Tucked down the alley off Laurens Street a block from Main, the Beer Exchange has spent well over a decade as the West End's craft beer anchor. Up front it's a bottle shop, shelves sorted by style, with a section set aside just for South Carolina brewers and singles you can pull together into your own six-pack. Keep walking and the building opens into a taproom in the back.
The tap wall stays in motion, usually around twenty rotating pours of beer, cider, and mead, with a growler station if you want to take some home. It's the kind of place where the staff will talk you through what's new rather than just pour it.
If it's your first time, start at the South Carolina shelf and build a mixed six from breweries you can't get outside the state. That is the thing the Beer Exchange does better than anywhere else downtown.