Hilton Head Island, SC - The Lodge

The front entrance of The Lodge in Hilton Head. 

If you're looking for miles of sandy beaches, a unique natural setting, and world famous golf courses, Hilton Head Island is a terrific vacation destination.  If you're looking for great craft beer, not so much.  Bud and Coors are everywhere, but for years it's been difficult to find a bar that offers a selection of draft craft beer.  The good news is that The Lodge, formally a martini and cigar bar, is now the island's choice for an interesting and varied selection of craft draft. You can skip the local brew pub, located right next door, but The Lodge is worth the visit. I got to sample four new beers, and that's always fun.

A one of a kind bar on Hilton Head Island. 

Most of the popular bars on Hilton Head are going for a bright, cheerful beach feel. Not The Lodge. Walk inside and you'd think you were in Montana or Alaska with the dark wood paneled walls adorned with mounted animal heads, and bar stools that are covered with faux animal skins. It's dark, and not at all what you'd expect for a beach community. The Lodge features 36 rotating taps with a rather eclectic selection of beer, including the ubiquitous Pabst and Yuengling to Harpoon Leviathan with a whopping 10% ABV.

A sampling of very tasty summer ales. 

What did we have:  We came for Happy Hour and decided to have a bite to eat along with the discounted drafts. Since they offered many selections that I hadn't tried, I decided on a sampler of summer ale style beers.  I asked our server to recommend selections that had some character with a nice hop finish.  My sampler included North Coast Blue Star American Pale Wheat Beer, Anderson Valley Summer Solstice Cream Ale, Foothills Hurricane Hefeweizen and Stone Cali-Belgique IPA. I did not dislike any of the selections, but found only the Stone Cali-Belgique to have the complex taste I was looking for.  I also enjoyed the cream ale, but due to it's sweetness, a small quantity sufficed. The menu offered usual pub grub fare with a large selection of burgers and barbecue.  I chose the caprese grilled cheese with mozzarella, basil chiffonade, tomato slices on Parmesan crusted sourdough with balsamic glaze dip.  It was very tasty.  My husband enjoyed his baby back ribs.

What was fun: Just the fact that you can find a venue on Hilton Head Island that serves craft beer is a treat. I hope that the locals, as well as visitors, will support this bar. Among the plethora of beach bars featuring overly-sweet Margaritas, Corona and Jimmy Buffett cover songs, it's great to have one establishment that actually serves GOOD beer.