Omnivore Atlanta

The Oktoberfest beers are arriving at a rapid pace, so its time to get warmed up on some strong, malty lagers, even if the warm weather does linger a bit longer in Georgia than it does in Germany. American craft brewers are releasing their fall seasonals as well, marking the beginning of the dark beer season.

If you want to find out what the fall seasonals are all about, sign up for the monthly beer tasting at The Porter Beer Bar that takes place Wed., Sept. 16, at 7:30, featuring pumpkin beers and Oktoberfests (also known as marzens or festbiers). Six samples will be served for $20. Call the bar at 404-223-0393 to reserve your spot. Speaking of the Porter Beer Bar, the little-gastropub-that-could is celebrating its first anniversary in Little Five Points, a significant landmark in that culinary Bermuda Triangle. They will be celebrating all day Sat., Sept. 12, with 30 special kegs and two casks. (more…)

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While you have been lounging by the pool this summer, Terrapin Beer Company’s Spike Buckowski has been slaving over a hot brew kettle to bring you a slew of new brews. Side Project No. 7 is out now, an easy-drinking saison dubbed Maggie Farmhouse Ale. This 6.0% ABV Belgian-style pale ale has a soft palate and fairly light body from a wheat addition, with some white pepper spiciness to give it an edge. It’s a nice balance of dry, bready malts, a bit of green apple tartness, tangy yeast, and a clean hop bitterness in the finish. It would make a perfect complement to a light summer meal.

Terrapin is replacing the summer seasonal in its Monster Beer Tour, the All-American Imperial Pilsner, with Gamma Ray Wheatwine, a potent and tasty Side Project from last year that will join the regular rotation. The release was delayed somewhat, but word is that bottling will take place next week, and the beer will hit shelves near the end of the month or in early September. Wheatwines are a rare style, and we are lucky to have a damned good one brewed right here in Georgia on a regular basis. (more…)

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Looking to squeeze in one more beer-inspired road trip before the end of summer? Here are three events within a half-day drive in fun-to-visit cities.

Southern Brewers Festival

Cruise up to Chattanooga next weekend for the Southern Brewers Festival on Sat., Aug. 22. Now in its 15th year, the Southern Brewers Festival brings brewers from throughout the Southeast and beyond to the downtown Chattanooga waterfront for a full day of music, food, and of course, beer. Proceeds benefit Chattanooga’s Kids on the Block, a program that uses child-sized puppets to educate children about social differences and give them the skills to stay safe and healthy.

The participating brewers include all three of Georgia’s microbreweries, as well as a number of breweries and brewpubs from Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina. Among the participants that do not distribute in Georgia are Foothills Brewing of Winston-Salem, NC, Boulevard Brewing of Kansas City, MO, and Yazoo Brewing of Nashville, TN. (more…)

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SOUL FOOD: The Southern Foodways Alliance produces films, does research and just generally celebrates regional food culture.

The Southern Foodways Alliance, a food society that studies, documents, and celebrates food from the American South, is holding their Potlikker Film Fest in Athens on August 22nd. The 6 to 9 p.m. evening of movies, mingling and performance will be held at Cine Athens and kicks of with “potlikker shots” for guests as they walk in the door. There will be bite-sized samples of old and new southern cuisine and live music and poetry by Coleman Barks. The event also includes a set of four short films on food in the South directed and produced by the SFA. The 21 and over evening is $45. Beer will be provided by Athens’ Terrapin Beer Company. Register here.

(Photo by Southern Foodways Alliance)

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That shit is wack: The Dank Tank at Sweetwater

The mercury has cracked the 90 degree barrier now, and summer has surely settled in. Thus, it is only natural that Georgia’s non-conformist breweries are going the opposite direction of the bigger breweries, swimming upstream if you will, and rolling out two of their biggest beers from the past. Sweetwater Brewing Company is re-introducing its popular Donkey Punch Barleywine, a sweet, hop-heavy alcohol bomb that packs 10.2 percent ABV and over 140 IBUs (International Bittering Units), as the latest in its Dank Tank series. Meanwhile, up GA 316 in Athens, Terrapin Beer Company’s third Side Project, Gamma Ray wheatwine, an 11% ABV monster brewed with 1,500 lbs of Tupelo and Sourwood honey from Savannah Bee Company, is replacing the All-American Imperial Pilsner as the new summer seasonal in its Monster Beer Series. Looks like summer is getting a little hotter.

Sweetwater’s 50-bbl Dank Tank is dedicated to experimental “dark side” brews, with the first release being a Belgian-style IPA that came out in December of last year. A Scotch ale and a double IPA followed. Thus far, these limited batches have only been available in kegs at select bars around Georgia and at the brewery and special events. However, this latest release will be the first Sweetwater beer to be bottled on its new 22-oz “bomber” bottling line, making it available at better package stores, which is good news, indeed. (more…)

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Decisions, decisions: Taco Mac is tapping special beers all month.

New beers are popping up all over this month, from new-to-Georgia breweries, to special casks and limited edition releases, to spring and summer seasonals from local and national breweries. It can be a bit overwhelming. I suggest you you just take it One Beer at a Time.

Bell’s Weather. Monday marks the Georgia debut of beers from Bell’s Brewery, and a number of local bars have events to mark the occasion. The Brick Store Pub will have a rare cask of HopSlam, the brewery’s much-drooled over double IPA, which will not be part of the regular Georgia portfolio until next year’s release in January. There will also be a keg of Special Double Cream Stout. Starting Tuesday, Taco Mac will be tapping Bell’s Amber Ale, Pale Ale, Porter, and Oberon, with a sixtel of HopSlam and Expedition Stout at the Kennesaw location. Check with your neighborhood store to see what is pouring. The Porter Beer Bar in L5P will host a Bell’s Beer Dinner on Tues., May 26. Check their website for details. Look for a full story on Bell’s next week.

More, more, more. Speaking of Taco Mac, there’s enough new stuff rolling out at their stores to keep you half-lit well into June. This weekend was the debut of Terrapin’s 30 Strong Ale, brewed especially for Taco Mac’s 30th anniversary. Thirty years is a long time in the restaurant business, and Taco Mac certainly deserves a special toast for turning its little Va-High pub into a beer bar empire. I remember experiencing some of my first world-class beers at that original store back in the early 80s when I didn’t know a hefeweizen from a doppelbock. Terrapin’s 30 Strong has a ridiculous 30 ingredients that includes 19 kinds of malt, 8 varieties of hops, water, and yeast, and is aged on oak spirals. It clocks in at 8.8% ABV. Now that’s extreme! (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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