Talking HeadTerrapin celebrates its anniversary
April 9th, 2009 by Jeff Holland in DrinkTerrapin Beer Company doesn’t need much of an excuse to celebrate, but this April is very special for the Athens,GA brewery. It was 7 years ago at the Classic City Brew Fest that Terrapin introduced its Rye Pale Ale, and since that time, its reputation for great beer has continued to grow. In fact, the Brewers Association recently reported that the company’s revenue went up 53% last year. It’s too bad this is not a publicly-traded company because here is a company that is certainly bucking the trends. After much delay, Terrapin finally moved into its own brewery in Athens early last year and hit the ground running, increasing its production by 37%, adding a wheat beer and an India Brown Ale to its year-round portfolio, and launching its Side Project series of limited edition beers.
Terrapin will mark their anniversary and celebrate their success with a party on Sat., April 11 from 5-9 p.m at the brewery. There will be live music, special reserve kegs, and a cask ale tent hosted by the Atlanta Roller Girls. A limited number of commemorative pint glasses will be handed out to first arrivals. Terrapin founders Spike Buckowski and John Cochran, along with the rest of the staff, will be on hand as well. You may even get to taste the next Side Project, the 90 Shelling Wee Heavy, that is due out by the end of the month. No that’s not a typo; “shelling” is a pun on “shilling” and references the terrapin mascot.
Son of a Peach
RJ Rockers Brewing Company of Spartanburg, SC, not far from the giant peach water tower in Gaffney, is introducing Son of a Peach, a spring seasonal brewed with wheat and fresh peaches. Eight Taco Macs will be tapping kegs of the new brew this week, well before it hits the store shelves, so if you enjoy a refreshing, fruity wheat beer, by all means head to the Metropolis, Lindbergh, Duluth, Woodstock, Canton, Newnan, or Greenbrier Mall locations and be the first in your neighborhood to try it.
Old Dominion Rolling Out in Georgia
Old Dominion Brewing Company has been rolling out some of its flavors in Atlanta over the past few months. I sampled the Spring Buck, a Belgian-style pale ale at the grand opening party for Hop City. This is a Belgian ale for the masses, with a sweet, fruity character and a touch of tangy Belgian yeast. It is smooth and refreshing for a 7.5% ABV beer, but lacks complexity. Dominion Millennium, a barleywine, and Dominion Oak Barrel Stout will also be available, with other styles likely in the future.
Old Dominion was purchased in 2007 by Coastal Brewing, a joint venture of Maryland-based Fordham Brewing Company and Anheuser-Busch, which owns 49 percent of the company and is the sole distributor for both the Fordham and Old Dominion brands. Last year, Coast Brewing closed the venerable Old Dominion Brewpub in Ashburn, VA and then moved the brewing operations to the Fordham facility in Maryland, leading to much hand-wringing among the Chesapeake beer community.
Coastal insists that it is still devoted to its mission “to continue making the high-quality craft beers that beer lovers have come to expect from the Fordham and Old Dominion names,” but the creation of the company and A-B’s involvement are hallmarks of a shift from the craft brewery growth model of gradual expansion to one of mass marketing that relies on streamlining operations, dropping slower-moving styles, and saturating markets. All of this is not to say that the beers are not good—I enjoyed the Spring Buck, and the Millennium and Oak Barrel Stouts rate well among beer aficionados—and the A-B distribution machine makes these beers a good alternative to the myriad alco-pops and mainstream imports available at the local gas station or grocery store.
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