Moon River Brewing Company offers great craft beer with a history. Savannah Georgia, next stop on my beer journey looking for a great local beer. Located on 21 W. Bay Street it is right in the historical district. The atmosphere was charming and had something to offer for everyone, whether you like to sit outside at the large bar in front of the even larger beer garden or dine inside where you could feel the rich history or sitting at the bar that was positioned to give the feel of a small local pub where stories can be shared, and yes there are plenty of stories that come with a building that is this rich in history.
Journey objective -Great Beer
Let me start with the first objective, getting a great beer brewed directly on site. Moon River has a beer for just about every taste. If you’re looking for great but not overpowering IPA you have it in their “Swamp Fox” American style IPA. Like Belgium style wheat beer try the “Wacky Wit”. The Porter and Stout offerings include “The Captain’s Porter” and “The Bomb”. These are just some of the staple beers that were being served. Personally, I found myself very pleased with the “Swamp Fox” IPA.
You can see the full beer and food menu at their link below.
Great People
The bar staff was great, attentive and entertaining. This is where you really get the feel for the place. Sitting at the bar, with the brewing equipment as a backdrop, with great friends enjoying beer taking in the history of the building. A little reading on the history of the building intrigued my interest on its past and started the conversation on it haunted reputation. As I sat down enjoying my cold draft, the staff was engaging and willing to share stories passed on from other patrons as well as their own experiences.
A place with History, more than just great beer
Origins
The building which now hosts Moon River Brewing Company was originally built in 1821 and served as the City Hotel, which was a gathering place for predominant locals to enjoy fine spirits from around the world (Savannah being a port city). Being a hotel, it also hosted many guests from the north which at time led to conflict with local patrons with differences of opinions and political ideals between the North and South. Several tales have been told about these altercations which have been attributed to today’s haunting on the premises.
Local Conflict
The most know story is of local physician, Phillip Minas, had shot James Stark over a long-heated dispute. There are several different variations of the story but the most popular is that Minas shot stark on the staircase in the upper floors. This is one area that is attributed to a lot of haunted encounters and stories of people being pushed on the staircase.
The hotel also hosted the first Post Office in Savannah and a branch of the bank. It operated as such until 1864 when General Sherman’s march during the Civil War.
The upper floors of the building were said to have served as a makeshift hospital, as many of the local buildings were, during the Yellow Fever outbreak in 1876 where illness attributed to many deaths.
At the turn of the Century the building served as many different things including a lumber and coal storage, general storage and also an office supply store which housed several printing presses until the effects of a hurricane in 1979 left the building damaged.
The building once known as the Grand City Hotel was then left vacant for almost 20 years until purchase in 1995 and brought to its current residence as Moon River Brewing Company.
History still with us
The haunting stories are numerous and included encounters with a boy named “Toby” in the basement who is said to lurk in the shadows and tug on people. The lady in white is said to make appearances on the upper floors as well as the dining room and bar area. Renovations on the top floors have never been completed due to encounters with workers who felt that they have been pushed.
I really wanted to visit these areas for myself, with beer in hand, but those areas are off limits to patrons but can be seen through local ghost tours. Not wanted to leave my seat, enjoying the beer offerings and stories, I was please to settle with pictures that our waitress from earlier in the week had taken for me.
I would definitely recommend that anyone spending time in the Savannah are make a stop at Moon River Brewing Company to enjoy the great beer offering and conversation. Moon River Brewing Company offers great craft beer with a history.
Special Thanks to our great friends, The Ryan’s, who joined us for the evening and out great bar staff team.
Cheers,
Mike
