Who doesn’t love a good White Claw? If you somehow missed the summer of 2019 where White Claws seemingly took the world by storm, let us catch you up. White Claw Hard Seltzers are a popular spiked seltzer which come in a variety of flavors. You can check out the impressive making of the Claw + its success here. White Claw’s success is largely responsible for the massive growth in the hard seltzer industry. So, why are we talking to you about White Claws? Other than clearly being our state’s hard seltzer of choice...

“Drinks White Claw once” | Gif via GIPHY

...on Tuesday evening, Gov. Henry McMaster’s office announced that Mark Anthony Brewing will develop a $400 million, 1 million+ sq. ft. brewing facility in Columbia. That’s some big bucks for our state. Right now, the only two other Mark Anthony Brewing manufacturing sites are in Glendale, AZ and Hillside, NJ.

This new facility will produce White Claw Hard Seltzer, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Mike’s Harder Lemonade and Cayman Jack Cocktails to help keep up with the skyrocketing demand for these spiked drinks in the southern United States. In addition to production, warehousing and distribution operations will also be located at the facility. Once complete, the brewery will be one of the largest built in the country in 25 years. Whoa.

The timeline for the project is short – construction on the brewery will begin almost immediately + is expected to be complete – with the brewery fully operational – by summer 2021.

So, aside from being a White Claw connoisseur, why should you care?

The investment, which will create 300 jobs in the Midlands, is one of the largest in Richland County’s history. Investments like this one help maintain and grow the local economy and, upon the business’ success, generate increased tax revenue, which in turn benefits projects and needs within the community. According to the governor’s release, the county was awarded a $4.6 million Set-Aside grant + a $1.5 million LocateSC grant. Read more about those here.

Interested in working at the new brewery when it opens? Find information on employment opportunities here.

We want to know – what’s your favorite flavor of White Claw? Need some help deciding? Here’s Food Network’s unofficial “official” rating.