USA, SC: Wild Yarrow Brewing getting ready to open in Greenville
Aaron Dowling, owner of the soon-to-open Wild Yarrow Brewing on Stone Avenue in Greenville, has been brewing beer for quite some time, Upstate Business Journal reported on February 11.
Dowling is a longtime hospitality professional that moved into the production side at New Anthem Brewing in 2017. The now-shuttered brewery got him his start professionally but his foundation as a brewer started long before that by experimenting with his own brews at home.
“You have to make a lot of mistakes first,” he said. “And then I just had a lot of time just reading everything I could get my hands on and learning the ingredients.”
Wild Yarrow will open in the former Tetrad Brewing Company space at 603 E. Stone Ave. which closed shop in June 2024. Dowling contacted commercial real estate firm Trinity Partners when he heard the space was available, seizing on the chance to move his first brewery into a building that was already fit for the operation.
Dowling’s goal is to make nuanced but counterpoised beers – something that would enamor the seasoned cicerone but also be welcome on the palette of someone just looking for a refreshing brew after work. His favorite part of the process is reverse engineering his beers by first considering its final flavor profile then working to put it into action.
“We want to put the best beer on display first and foremost,” he said. “And then the other part of that is just being the community gathering space for everybody.”
Dowling plans for the brewery to have a keen sense of terroir in its footing. About 95% of malts will come from Riverbend Malt House in Asheville along with locally grown fruits, herbs and flowers to infuse the beers with the Upstate’s atmosphere.
The brewery will produce a wide range of styles but will focus on barrel-aged beers, mixed-fermentation saisons and lagers.
There will not be in-house food but guests can expect food trucks on site. He said nonprofits will be a huge focus for the brewery and plans to fundraise for local charities on a rotating basis. Dowling has previously worked with animal rescues and plans to work with local rescues.
The brewery is expected to open the weekend of April 10. Dowling will open the brewery with his wife, Cindy. Currently, the plan is to operate every day but Monday.
The name Wild Yarrow pays homage to traditional brewing.
“Before hops were used as a bittering agent, yarrow was used in place of hops,” Dowling said.
He and his wife Cindy have always grown yarrow and felt it would make a pretty logo. The flowering plant, in the aster family, has also been used to treat a variety of ailments including inflammation and anxiety.
11 February, 2025
