Swamp Rabbit Brewery

Ben and Teresa Pierson formed the 5th Element Brewing Company, LLC in 2013. The family owned business, Swamp Rabbit Brewery and Taproom, opened its doors in Travelers Rest in March of 2014. A brewmaster position brought their family to Greenville in 1995.

Both Ben and Teresa did their undergraduate and graduate education at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Teresa focused on her family, her work as a Counselor, and now tends to all the administrative aspects of the business. Their brewery venture started in the early 80's with her gift to Ben of a home brew kit because she felt he needed a hobby away from all the hard work he did! The vision to have their own brewery began in 1983 with the rise of brewpubs and breweries in the West and Northwest.

Ben did internships at D.L. Geary (Portland, ME), Goose Island (Chicago, IL), Kaltenburg Breweries (Munich, Furstenfeldburk,  Geltendorf and Hamburg, Germany), and Riverwalk Brewery (Ft. Lauderdale, FL). He was trained by Karl Strauss (Pabst Brewery), Dan Carey (New Glarus), Alan Pugsley (D.L. Geary and Shipyard), Horst Habermann, Herman Kronawitter, Joseph Stangassenger, Christoph Moser (all with Kaltenburg in Germany), David Geary (D.L. Geary), Victor Ecimovich (Goose Island), and Dr. Michael Lewis (UC Davis, CA).

Ben was previously brewmaster at the first Hops Bar and Grille (Clearwater, FL), the Riverwalk Brewery (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Wolfgang's (O'Fallon, IL), J.D. Nicks (O'Fallon, IL), the Downtown Brewing Company (Greenville, SC), Caesar's Head Brewery (Greenville, SC), Greenman Brewing Co. (Asheville, NC), Dirty Jacks/Greenman (Asheville, NC), Upland Brewing Co. (Bloomington, IN), and the LAB (Asheville, NC). He has consulted for French Broad Brewery (Asheville, NC), Robin's Beak (Belleville, IL), Jeremiah's Froghead (Paducah, KY), Southern Barrel (Bluffton, SC), Terminal Brewhouse (Chattanooga, TN), Awful Arthurs (Roanoke, VA), Southern Prohibition Brewery (Hattiesburg, MS), Pipes Brewery (Wales, UK), and Microbrewery (Chamonix, France). Ben has trained many brewers and shared (and continues to do so) his wealth of experience and knowledge with other startups. He has never looked back and continues to hone his art to produce quality beer, educate, and share his passion for beer with others. Beer...the fifth element.