Omnivore Atlanta

Larry Bell at his Michigan brewery

The craft beer industry is full of colorful characters from Dogfish Head’s extreme beer advocate Sam Caliagione to Lagunitas’ Zappa fanatic and cannabis apologist Tony Magee. Between those representing the East and West coasts respectively, you’ll find self-described eccentric Larry Bell, founder of Bell’s Brewery of Kalamazoo, MI. From selling homebrew cooked up in a 15-gallon soup kettle, Bell has become a leading brewer in the Midwest, moving into a new facility in 2003 that’s already been expanded twice and now has a capacity of 140,000 barrels. Over 110,000 barrels were brewed last year, making Bell’s the 13th largest craft brewer in the country. Bell’s is now distributed in 17 states, including Georgia, where it’s rolling out this week.

With the tagline “Inspired Brewing,” Bell’s emphasizes its dedication to craft beer excellence. Batch numbers printed on the bottle can be entered on the company’s website to get information on brewing and bottling dates. The brewery turns out 7 year-round beers and 10-12 seasonals, along with one-time releases such as the Batch series of commemorative beers. In the first round of shipments, Georgia will see the Amber Ale, Porter, Pale Ale, Third Coast Old Ale, and Kalamazoo Stout from the year-round stable, along with the wildly popular wheat ale, Oberon, which is the company’s only summer release and accounts for close to half of the brewery’s output. Because of the shortage of particular strains of hops, the Two-Hearted Ale, a brisk, hoppy IPA, will not make it to Georgia until later. “In the summertime we’re so busy brewing Oberon that it’s tough getting to those other specialties. Come September we’ll be able to offer up a little bit larger portfolio,” Bell says. (more…)

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The eco-friendly campus at New Belgium Brewing Company

Fat Tire Amber Ale from New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, CO is due in stores the first of next week. It will be available in 22-oz. bombers to start, with 6-packs and draft to follow shortly. Fat Tire has myriad fans, and it has propelled the company into the number 3 spot in the nation among craft brewers (behind Boston Beer Company and Sierra Nevada). I find it to be a decent enough beer; it is balanced and has a nutty, toasted malt character that makes it a good choice with food. New Belgium also turns out some other good beers, which will no doubt make their way to Georgia soon (look for the 1554 Belgian Black, Abbey-style Dubbel, Trippel, and if we are lucky, La Folie Flanders Red).

For me, though, the best thing about this company is their commitment to the environment. I don’t think there is another brewery in the world that takes sustainability as seriously as the folks at New Belgium. Their brewery is a model of efficiency. It runs almost entirely on wind power with the remainder from gas generated on- and off-site. The buildings utilize passive solar power and evaporative cooling, and were built using downed timber. The boilers are the most energy-efficient available, and their recycling efforts have reduced landfill diversion to only 15 percent, not including spent grain and yeast, which are also recycled. The company’s employees, who are also its owners, are deeply involved in the effort to reduce waste and save energy, and each receive a bicycle on their 1-year anniversary at the company. The parking lot at the brewery has as many bikes as cars. They also sponsor a number of green-focused events and donate 1% of their revenue to environmental non-profits. That’s commitment I will drink to. For more information on New Belgium’s efforts at environmental stewardship, check out this summary and their 2007 Sustainability Report. (more…)

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French Broad Altbier

French Broad Brewing Company
Asheville, NC
5.5% ABV

Once a rarity, Altbier seems to be coming into its own lately, with the classic German Uerige more widely available and quality American versions coming from Victory, Otter Creek and Southampton. Altbier is a German ale found primarily in the Düsseldorf region. It is fermented at ale temperatures, but cold conditioned like a lager, for a clean, crisp character. Unlike the other German ale style, kölsch, altbiers are malt-forward and slightly sweet, rather than spicy and dry.

French Broad Altbier pours an orangey-gold, with a rocky, off-white head. Damp, earthy aroma and some floral notes in the nose, along with a bit of estery, ripe apple. Toasted Munich malt dominates the flavor, with its distinctive graininess and bready character. Grassy, herbal, tea-like hops provide a subtle counterpoint, but this one is all about the malt. Smooth and soft on the tongue, with a gentle carbonation and easy drinkability. A welcome break from the current hop-bomb trend. Try this with a grilled burger and corn-on-the-cob at your next cookout.

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May Flowers. The month of May promises to be one of the biggest in recent memory for Georgia beer lovers: Craft Beer Week, two new Terrapin releases, the opening of 5 Seasons Westside, and the Georgia debut of Bell’s and New Belgium. Look for more details here in the coming weeks on all of these events. Then, toward the end of the month, the East Atlanta Beer Festival kicks off the Atlanta festival season. The fest takes place on Sat., May 30, from 1-6 p.m. at the corner of Moreland and Metropolitan avenues in East Atlanta. Over 120 craft beers will be featured and proceeds benefit community projects. Buy your tickets today (Apr. 29) to save $5 and avoid the long lines. They will be $35 at the gate.

French Broad spotted in Atlanta. No, not Carla Bruni. Asheville’s French Broad Brewing Company has begun distribution in the Atlanta area. The small brewery (about 2,500 barrels in 2008) opened in 2001 and has pursued a goal of creating classic European style beers with an Asheville twist. Recently they have been stepping up production, expanding into Virginia, Eastern Tennessee, and now Georgia. “We’re a little stressed here at the brewery right now,” says marketing director Matt Barnao. “We’re on a pace to triple our production from last year.” To keep up with orders, beers are brewed during the day on the company’s 15-barrel system, then the night shift comes in to bottle on a semi-automated bottle filling system. (more…)

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The Perfect Meal?: Mussels and frites with an Oude Geueze at Blega Cafe

While George W. was waging the War on Terror overseas, he failed to notice a foreign invasion right under his nose. The dingy Irish pubs and wood-paneled taverns of D.C. are being replaced by sophisticated Euro-style gastropubs and brasseries serving up mussels and frites with a side of homemade mayo or thin-crust artisan pizzas to pair with Flemish sours and American IPAs.

The District has always had a European feel, thanks to Pierre L’Enfant’s broad, diagonal boulevards and open spaces, and the height restriction on buildings that has shut out the glass and steel towers of the typical American city. But the high cost of living in the city has taken its toll on neighborhood saloons, where working stiffs rubbed elbows with government wonks and power brokers. Suddenly, the upwardly mobile are gaga over rabbit loin roasted in framboise or a terrine of veal cheeks, quail egg, frisee, and truffles, served with a $20 bottle of Cuvée du Keizer Grand Cru.

No less than three of these Belgian brasseries are located in the vicinity of the capitol. In addition, a wide selection of Belgian ales, on draft and in bottles, can be found at any number of slightly less expensive restaurants and bars serving everything from wood-fired pizza to nachos. (more…)

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The original Superbier: Westmalle Tripel

The Belgian-style tripel ale makes a great springtime beer, savored on a breezy patio with your trusty laptop, or paired with fresh spring salads. Spring tends to make me feel a little bit drunk, so I have to be careful of the velvet hammer of the tripel’s strength, typically 8-10%, especially since they are so easy-drinking. The monks of Westmalle Abbey in Malle first to brew the tripel in 1934, dubbing it “Superbier.” The current name refers to the use of three times the malt of a standard abbey-style ale.

Tripels are characterized by a relatively light color, fruity flavors, and a flowery, spicy character being more prominent than hop bitterness. Candi sugar (dextrose) is typically used to increase the alcoholic strength while keeping the body light. Belgian yeast strains contribute to the style’s complex aromas and flavors. Fruity esters of orange, banana and pineapple are commonly present. White pepper and clove spiciness from the yeast is complemented by floral hop aromas. Here are three excellent examples of the style, all widely available, one each from Belgium, Canada, and the United States. (more…)

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Terrapin 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. (more…)

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War documentaries are perhaps best made by outsiders who are able to show the nobility and suffering on both sides of the conflict. Anat Baron brings such neutrality to Beer Wars: Brewed in America, a documentary film that explores the goings-on behind the scenes of the world’s largest and smallest breweries as they struggle to win the minds and palates of America’s 115 million beer drinkers. Anat is allergic to alcohol, so she’s never tasted the beers that are at the center of the conflict.

“I think that [not drinking] has helped me in making the film because I don’t cast judgment over one or the other group,” Baron says. “I am certainly the last person to tell you what to drink or what not to drink, but beyond that, the actual war does exist in the business of beer, and that is more what the film is focused on; it is far less about the two different types of consumers, and whether Bud drinkers think beer geeks are elitist.”

Baron’s 90-minute film will air simultaneously in 440 theaters across the nation on April 16 and will be followed by a 30-minute live discussion with a panel of brewers and beer experts hosted by know-it-all pundit Ben Stein. The panel will be answering questions generated in advance from the live audience. “They have a digital network in the theaters that can accept satellite feed,” Baron says. “It’s just a really cool idea, I think, that all these people across America are going to be watching something happen simultaneously. I wanted to get people talking, and this seemed like a better way to do that than the traditional way of rolling out a few theaters at a time.” (more…)

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Rx for Beer Blahs: Mama

Take two and call me in the morning

Oskar Blues Brewery, makers of Dale’s Pale Ale and Ten Fidy Imperial Stout, have released a Czech-style pilsner called Mama’s Little Yella Pils that should prove popular this summer. The Lyons, Colorado-based Oskar Blues has made a name for itself as one of the first craft breweries to sell their beer in cans rather than bottles. Cans are easily recyclable, more easily handled, require less energy to produce, and can be taken many places where glass bottles are not allowed, such as the park, the beach, or the pool.

Mama’s Little Yella Pils is modeled after the classic pilsner from the Czechoslovakian region of Pilsen that inspired the original Budweiser. A generous amount of pale malts and German specialty malts give this interpretation a firm, grainy body, while the Saaz hops provide a fresh, floral aroma and a crisp, dry finish. The modest 5.3% ABV keeps it in the realm of an everyday quaffer. Yella Pils is available now in 6-packs of bright yellow cans. Unfortunately, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau rejected their tagline on the can, “Take two and call me in the morning.” Don’t ask me why.

Firkin Saturdays at the Brick Store Pub

The Brick Store Pub will be tapping a fresh cask of real ale every Saturday at noon, just in time for sidewalk season. The first offering this past Saturday was the Russian Imperial Stout from Thornbridge Hall Country House Brewing Company, an amazingly rich, smoky stout with a dark-fruit tang and notes of chickory and bittersweet chocolate. If you weren’t there, you missed it, since the firkins only last a couple of days and this was the only one shipped to Georgia. Coming soon will be Gwatkins Yarlington Mill Cider, the CAMRA Gold Medal Champion Cider of Great Britain in 2002. (more…)

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No Green Beer: The Distillery in Savannah, GA

In less than two weeks an estimated 400,000 revelers will descend on Savannah for the second largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the United States. There will be parades, Irish music, and green beer, but it will be hard to find a Guinness stout, much less a top-notch American craft beer. The proprietors of The Distillery, which opened in November across from the Savannah Visitors’ Center aim to change that.

Michael Volen purchased the building that houses the Distillery in 2004, but was unable to find a satisfactory tenant until his son Ben suggested a bar dedicated to craft beer. Ben Volen got bitten by the craft beer bug while a student at Pace University in Westchester County, New York, where he drank the local craft beers from Captain Lawrence Brewing Company in Pleasantville. After finding that the “craft beer scene was non-existant in Savannah,” he convinced his father, a teetotaler, that a first-class taproom could succeeded there. Ben and his friend Chris Hubbard, who serves as the reaturant’s general manager, came down to Savannah last summer and began renovating the century-old building that was once home to the Louisville Distilling Company, named for the Louisville road that begins across from the site. (more…)

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Recession busters: Good beers at a good price

We’re all watching our pennies these days, but if you’re like me, you’ve come too far in your beer taste to go back to The Beast. But that doesn’t mean you can’t save a little coin on your beer purchases and still enjoy a well-crafted brew.

The price of all beer has gone up, so there is only so much you can save without joining the Carrie Nation. The sooner you accept that fact, the sooner you can be enjoying a beer. And remember that a dollar or two savings on a 12-pack of Busch Light evaporates faster than you think – you’ll find yourself going through 4 or 5 in a night vs. 2 or 3 of a more flavorful beer.

Here are a few things I picked up at Tower and Green’s recently that were relative bargains. I tried to balance price and overall enjoyment. All prices are for a 6-pack of 12-oz. bottles except as indicated. (more…)

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The AJC reported Sunday that the Senate Regulated Industries Committee will hold a hearing this Wednesday on legislation to allow local jurisdictions to vote on Sunday retail alcohol sales. Opposition to the measure, introduced both this year and last year by Sen. Seth Harp (D-Midland), may be softening, and proponents are contending that Sunday sales could add $5 million in revenue to state coffers at a time when the money is desperately needed. However, Gov. Sonny Purdue’s spokesperson indicated that the governor remains opposed to Sunday sales, and the Christian Coalition has promised to make the issue part of its agenda for the upcoming gubenatorial primaries. As usual, tax revenue is more important to legislators than individual freedoms, but if it means I can get a beer when I want one, then I’ll take whatever reasoning I can get. (more…)

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Thank You for Your Support: Smuttynose Finestkind IPA

The name might produce a snicker, but there’s nothing silly about the first-rate beers produced by Portsmouth, New Hampshire’s Smuttynose Brewing Company. Established in 1994 by Peter Egelston and his sister Janet, the company has been gradually expanding its production to meet demand and is now being sold in Georgia. Egelston, who serves as president of Smuttynose, says that they have purposely grown slowly to avoid what happened to many craft breweries in the 90s:  capacity expanded well beyond demand and became overextended. Still, their growth has been strong enough that they plan to construct a new facility beginning next year.

The Egelstons have been at the forefront of the craft beer movement on the East Coast, having opened the Northampton Brewery in Massachusetts in 1987, now the oldest operating brewpub in New England. They opened Portsmouth Brewery, also a brewpub, in New Hampshire in 1991. When a local microbrewery went out of business, Egelston purchased the operation at auction with no marketing plan or name for his new brewery. He later settled on Smuttynose, the name of a small island off the coast of New Hampshire because it had a local connection and was “a funny, quirky name that once people got, it they would not forget it.”

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February packs a lot into its 28 days, what with Black History Month, President’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Charles Dickens Day (February 7, in case you were wondering), and of course, today, Groundhog Day, representing for rodents everywhere.

I suggest working beer into the celebrations wherever possible. For instance, in honor of Black History Month, sample the products of Brooklyn Brewery, founded by Garrett Oliver, one of the few African-Americans among American craft brewers. For Valentine’s Day, sample some chocolate stouts and porters, like Terrapin’s latest project, Dos Cocoas, or Atlanta Brewing Company’s Double Chocolate Oatmeal Porter. For Charles Dickens Day, try out some traditional British ales like Fuller’s ESB or Bluebird Bitter. For Groundhog Day, you are on your own. Here are some beercentric goings-on that are worthy of your attention this month. (more…)

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Human Blockhead nails it.

If the cold weather and gray skies have got you feeling down, buck up! It’s already time for a spring release, the return of a classic barleywine, and other random oddities.

You Blockhead! Human Blockhead, the latest in the Coney Island Lager line from Schmaltz Brewing Company, hits stores this month. Billed as a “Tough-as-Nails Strong Lager,” the seasonal offering is brewed from eight specialty malts including rye, wheat and oats, and six hop varieties that suggest a dopplebock style. It packs a whopping 10% ABV that might have you feeling like Melvin Burkhardt, who for 25 years pounded nails into his head as the original Human Blockhead at the Coney Island sideshow. The current MC of the sideshow, Donny Vomit, now keeps the act alive and is featured on the label. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Coney Island Lagers goes to support Coney Island USA, a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of American popular culture.

Magic Hat Spring Fever Variety 12-Pak. It seems a bit odd to offer a spring variety pack from Jan. 1 to April 1, since the dates only include 10 days of actual spring. But then again, the folks at Magic Hat often seem to have dipped into the psilocybin bag. This year’s Spring Fever Variety 12-Pak contains three bottles each of the #9 ale, Circus Boy, hi.P.A., and the latest Odd Notion, a Poppy Agave Pilsner that contains agave and blue poppy seeds. Perhaps that explains the odd release dates. The hi.P.A. is a regular in the spring lineup, made with English pale malts and Columbus hops. It has 45 IBU (International Bittering Units) and 5.8% ABV. (more…)

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THE BEST THING ABOUT THE MIDDLE AGES: Gruit ales

With the high cost and limited availability of hops over the past year, brewers have shown an increased interest in returning to early beer recipes for an alternative source to bitter and spice their beers. Prior to the extensive use of hops, European brewers typically used a mixture of plants and herbs called gruit, or grut. The core ingredients in gruit were sweet gale, yarrow and marsh rosemary, each of which contributed desirable characteristics, such as flavoring, bittering and preservatives. Brewers added other herbs, spices and plants, including juniper berries, caraway seeds, anise, ginger and nutmeg to create individual flavor profiles.

The primary herbs used in gruit also had another characteristic: They were noted intoxicants, inducing euphoria and stimulating the libido. Hops, on the other hand, were known to be more soporific than stimulating, decreasing sexual desire and leading to sleep. (more…)

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IT'S KOSHER: Steinbeck’s teams up with Shmaltz Brewing for a beer lunch, Sat., Jan. 17.

Your intrepid beer writer is recovering from an obscenely massive beer tasting, so you’ll have to be satisfied with some random tidbits of news and information this week.

Beer and Chocolate. Two great tastes that taste great together. Summits Wayside Taverns are having their annual Belgians, Barleywines & Bodacious Chocolates event this week, pairing the titular Belgians and barleywines, as well as some choice stouts and porters, with chocolates from Ghirardelli, Scharffen Berger, Lindt, El Rey, Valhrona and more. A full gourmet dinner is also included for $69.99 per person. Featured beers include Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock, Lindeman’s Peche Lambic, Sweetwater Happy Ending Stout, Rogue Old Crustacean, and Hebrew Jewbelation, among others. The event takes place 7 p.m. tonight (Mon., Jan 12) at the Cumming location; Tues., Jan 13, 7 p.m. at the Snellville location; and Thurs., Jan 15, 7 p.m. at the Woodstock location. Call the individual stores for more information. (more…)

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Seasons Greetings: The 5 Seasons Westside promises to be a palace of good beer and food.

If you read the paper or watch the news, you are probably thinking that 2009 will be a year to survive rather than enjoy. This doesn’t have to be the case. If good beer makes you happy, there is much to look forward to, even before the first daffodils start popping up. Here’s a look ahead.

Terrapin’s Sweet Tooth. The fourth installment in the Terrapin Beer Company’s Side Project, Dos Cocoas, should be hitting stores soon. It is brewed with cocoa powder and aged on cocoa nibs. The chocolate theme continues at the 2nd Annual Wake-N-Bake Off, where participants incorporate Terrapin’s Wake-N-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout into a dessert recipe. The judging takes place at Aromas in Athens on Sunday, Jan. 25. Contact the brewery at 706-549-3377 for more information. (more…)

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BEST CELLAR: Adrian Dingle checks his cellar inventory

I suppose we all mellow with age, and it is no different for beer. While the value of aging wine and spirits has long been recognized, typical pale lagers are meant to be served fresh (as Budweiser will no doubt tell you), so most people never consider the possibilities of cellaring beer. However, with an increasing number of breweries producing high-alcohol beers, spiced seasonals and kitchen-sink anniversary ales, the opportunities are everywhere to sock some beers away for a year or two to mellow out the alcohol hotness, take some of the bite out of any harsh hop bitterness, and allow the complex flavors to comingle. (more…)

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It’s that time of year where we reflect on the past 12 months and consider what happened and whether it was good or bad. Oh, and we make a bunch of lists. Here are mine:

Best of 2008

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron. Aged in a giant vat constructed of Palo Santo wood, a dense aromatic wood from Paraguay that is more commonly used for wine, this strong brown ale has a remarkable vanilla-oakiness and a deep, roasted malt character. Building the 10,000 gallon tank, the largest wooden beer vessel built in the United States since Prohibition, proved to be its own special challenge. Procuring such a large amount of the wood was difficult since there are few large pieces, and it is over three times as hard as oak, dulling saw blades and defying nails and screws. It’s an interesting story, but how does it taste? Terrific. Like a great single-malt whisky, it seems to draw out the earthy, woody essence of the roasted malt. Herbal elements of licorice, tobacco and coffee bean are held aloft by a raft of softly sweet vanilla, molasses and cherry. Warm without being boozy, and delightfully complex, it is a treat to have it in the regular rotation from Dogfish Head. (more…)

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If you have a beer aficionado on your gift list this year, be it your significant other, friend, or boss, you have lots of great gift options from the extravagant to the modest that will be sure to put a smile on his or her face. Here are some ideas to get you started.
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