Bierkellers, or beer sellers, are a staple around Bamberg, Germany.

Scott Burgess spent a year in Bamberg on a study abroad program while earning his masters degree from the University of South Carolina.

He learned to love bierkellers so much he wanted to bring that German culture to Columbia, where he grew up. So he opened Bierkeller Brewing Co. in downtown’s Canalside neighborhood, near the Congaree riverwalk. 

“It’s a great place for people to congregate, bring their children, bring their dogs, get some excellent beer,” said Susan Cate, a dog owner and Bierkeller customer. “I mean, the quality never waivers, and to be outside if you want to be with a nice breeze blowing off the river.”

Bierkeller Brewing is Columbia’s only true bierkeller, selling only in-house-brewed, German-style beer and German food. 

“We’re different from other places, not only in town, but throughout South Carolina, in that we focus on five or six styles at a time,” Burgess said. “A lot of these breweries you go into will have like 30, or you know, at least a dozen other beers.”

He said he missed the place so much he needed to go back. So he did – staying for 10 years, continuing his studies and learning the science of German brewing.

“I spent a lot of my time (outside the classroom),” Burgess said. “I (was) riding my bike through the logging trails to these little villages and visiting breweries and beer gardens and bierkellers.”

Back in Columbia, he wanted to test the market before opening Bierkeller. So he operated pop-up beer gardens in the Vista for seven to eight years.

“A lot of the beers that I was recreating were brewed by monks,” Burgess said. “So there’s a lot of the original literature and stuff out there from the universities where, you know, some of the clergy folk studied how to do this stuff.”

There’s another reason Bierkeller works.

Canalside’s large, welcoming square just outside Bierkeller’s door fits a German bierkeller atmosphere. It’s the kind of place where people can gather and sit without buying anything.

“Beer gardens, the fun thing about them for me, is that they’re super easy to settle into,” he said. “There’s no pressure to buy the food or drink. You sit down, you’re out under the trees. Usually by some sort of natural attraction.”

But he also said he wanted to bring Bierkeller to Columbia rather than somewhere else because of the people.

Burgess said Columbia as a whole feels relaxed to him, where people find it pretty easy to live.

Burgess isn’t the only one to enjoy the bierkeller culture. 

Tamera Tedder, a Bierkeller customer, said she loves the atmosphere.

“The impromptu (nature of it), the music, and just kind of laid back chill,” Tedder said. “… It’s just more … relaxed.”

Bierkeller is a good place to hang out, but it’s also an amazing place to work, said employee Collins Belcher.

“It’s a wonderful concept,” Belcher said. “Bringing the German culture to Columbia.”