The brewery population in Atlanta recently reached double digits.
Not terribly long ago, we explored the idea of confronting Jack Frost mano a mano and actually heading north in our wintry beer travels. Bold, but there’s a more comfortable way to soak up beer culture that puts hop bite ahead of frostbite. And with craft beer culture permeating every corner of the country, consider visiting existing and emerging hot spots in the American South.
It took the South a bit longer to appear on the beer map, considering, historically, it was more difficult to brew quality beer below the Mason-Dixon line (hotter temperatures spoiled the beer. Plus, no hops). But modern technology and passion know no bounds. So forget about talk of secession—the South is rising and even Yankees ought to pack a few growlers and shorts and prepare to eat more biscuits and gravy with breakfast than some folks might ordinarily get all year.
Atlanta
When RateBeer.com users vote two beer bars in Atlanta among the top in the U.S. (OK, one’s in Decatur, but they’re less than four miles apart), it’s clear The Big Peach plays a dominant role. No wonder the brewery population has reached double digits.
Brewerywise, it starts with Red Brick Brewing (2323 Defoor Hills Road). Georgia’s first craft brewery, founded as the Atlanta Brewing Co., counts Hoplanta IPA and Red Brick Brown among its core beers. It created the Brick Mason series for bigger beers, including a Double IPA and Vanilla Gorilla that sees a smoked porter receive smoked vanilla beans before aging in whiskey barrels. Red Brick’s 17th Anniversary Ale is an imperial version of its brown ale, then aged in Jim Beam barrels.
SweetWater Brewing Co. (195 Ottley Drive NE) in the Buckhead neighborhood, was founded in 1996 and has grown into one of the country’s largest on the strength of its flagship 420 Extra Pale Ale. Its growing barrel program keeps it at the forefront of intriguing new beers. Visit the brewery for a tour Wednesday through Saturday, but really, just skip the tour and spend your time kicking it at the tasting room, where a ten spot gets six 5.5-ounce beers.
Atlantans have thrown their arms around 5 Seasons, now with three locations stretching from 5 Seasons-Midtown (1000 Marietta St.) to the original in Sandy Springs tucked inside The Prado shopping center (5600 Roswell Road) and 5 Seasons-North in the suburb of Alpharetta (3655 Old Milton Parkway). Two talented brewmasters helm the brew houses, both esteemed for the brews. On the pub side, the fare leans more toward gastro than grub. There’s no going wrong with the Organic Brisket Reuben with amazing hand-cut sweet potato fries (with cocoa chili). The entrees are always elegant, and, this being Atlanta, definitely go for the Coca-Cola Cured Duck Breast. (Do this preferably after visiting the World of Coca-Cola, aka the Coke Museum, at 121 Baker St. NW; worldofcoca-cola.com).
As if brewpubs aren’t fun enough on their own, Twain’s (211 E. Trinity Place in Decatur) is both a billiard hall and brewpub. Well, it started tapping only other people’s beers, but in ’06 the pub wisely started to brew its own. The Tropicalia Project is its series of single-hopped IPAs. The food menu is beered up, too, in small but fun ways like making spent-grain bread and offering IPA-brined pickles. With pool tables as well as shuffleboard and arcade games, hope you weren’t in a rush to go somewhere else.
The beer joint often seen as synonymous with Atlanta is the Brick Store Pub (125 E. Court Square in Decatur). On the main floor, it feels like you’re in a British pub, down to the horseshoe bar and British classics such as shepherd’s pie on the menu. The draft list is far-reaching, but you’ll certainly find a few taps dedicated to in-state brews from SweetWater and perhaps something from Athens’ Terrapin. Upstairs, the beer culture changes to little Belgium in the Belgian Room. Here, you can get your geek on with a bottle list that’s even longer than the one printed for downstairs, and—it goes without saying—pricier, too. But hey, Cantillon is worth the cost, and it’s on the list.
Newer on the Decatur scene but from the same Gallagher brothers who brought us The Pub is Leon’s Full Service (131 E. Ponce de Leon Ave.), its name taken from its former use as an actual filling station. Here, beer shares the spotlight with its cocktail brethren, and the munchies menu has gone more upscale, including Georgia shrimp and clams in a white wine broth. But fans of finger foods will love the frites served with a staggering array of dipping options (the curry ketchup and smoked tomato mayo are my faves) and the most talked about is the glassful of bacon strips with a side of peanut butter for dipping.
The Porter (1156 Euclid Ave.) in Little 5 Points is the other beer mecca in town. With over 800 beers to be enjoyed (including 40 on draft), how could it not be? Order a glass of the L5 Project Imperial Porter from Wrecking Bar, one of Atlanta’s other fine new breweries, or a bottle of Hard Time Barleywine from one of Georgia’s newest and most exciting micros. Happily, since you’ll be doing some serious drinking here, you get to do serious eating, too. The half-pound burger is a meal to behold, and if the Wrecking Bar is your first stop of the day, at least on weekends, the brunch options are mouthwatering. The toughest decision you make may be whether to go sweet with pancakes topped with bananas flambé and toasted pecans, or savory with a “Biscuit’wich” holding scrambled eggs, cheese and choice of breakfast meat (including soysage for those who don’t do meat).
Since I forgot to mention that Leon’s offers a bocce court, now’s a good time to do so, seeing as Ormsby’s (1170 Howell Mill Road) in Westside sports bocce action, too. It even hosts (Atlanta Bocce) league play. The smartly curated draft options are apt to include some of the other Atlanta-area breweries such as Monday Night Brewing, which morphed from three guys who met in a Bible studies group and learned how to homebrew together into a company that, after a year in operation, is expanding into a 30-barrel brewery that’ll see the addition of a tap room and, duh, bocce courts.
Last but nowhere near least is Taco Mac, the chain of family-friendly sports bars that kick-started beer education in Atlanta—now with 22 locations—and expanding throughout the South. By getting patrons to enroll in the chain’s Brewniversity program and continue trying new beers (not hard when the bars have over 140 taps), Taco Mac deserves the credit for expanding people’s craft-beer perceptions and palates.
In fact, once you have more than a few beers punched on your member card, you can gain access to The Fred (5600 Roswell Road), hidden away in the basement of the Taco Mac-Prado location. Taco Mac beverage director Fred Crudder says he has the best job in the world. This is his tangible proof: Order up a Mac ’n’ Cheese Kobe Burger, pair it with something off Fred’s Secret Stash list you thought you’d never get to try, and sink into a night of rarefied beer culture.
