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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With all the new breweries that have come to Georgia in the last two to three years, the trip to the beer cooler at your local package store can be somewhat intimidating. Add to that the increased price of craft beers, and it can be difficult to plop down $8-10 on a 6-pack of an unknown quantity. That’s where beer tastings and beer dinners come in. For little or no money, you can sample new beers and get a sense of both the styles and brands that are worth your hard-earned money. There is no shortage of opportunities to sample beers in Atlanta. Here are a few regular or semi-regular tastings that are going on around town, along with a few upcoming beer dinners.

Hop City Craft Beer & Wine store hosts free beer tastings most every Wednesday at Octane Coffee Bar & Lounge across the street from their retail store. Magic Hat beers will be featured at this week’s tasting (July 15). In two weeks (July 29), sample beers from Sierra Nevada. Hop City has also teamed up with neighborhood caterer Figs & Honey, who operate Tiny Bistro, to host wine and beer events. Sign up for Hop City’s email list or become a fan on Facebook to get updates on the featured beers. (more…)

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Have you ever wondered why cultures in hot climates load their cuisine with sweat-inducing spices? Scientists offer a number of plausible explanations, including the antimicrobial properties of peppers, the cooling effects of perspiration, and the stimulant qualities that counter heat-induced lethargy and loss of appetite.

It’s likely a combination of these things, but I think there’s a more visceral impulse involved, as well. It’s the same reason people jump into frozen lakes and pretend to be polar bears. Because doing the logical thing is boring. Sometimes you have to change up the game. So if those watery summer beers just aren’t doing it for you anymore, why not just do a 180? Which bring us to Festivus in July. Both Taco Mac and The Porter Beer Bar are celebrating the dead center of summer with big, malty winter beers. Brilliant. (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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FOX BROS. BAR-B-Q: Just like the “Tominator,” the “Lopez” is named after its creator: in this case, Steve Lopez, Widespread Panic’s tour manager. Lopez used to have the Fox brothers make him a “Krystal casserole,” Krystal burgers covered in chunky and slightly spicy Texas-style brisket chili, crunchy golden tater tots and melted cheddar and jack cheeses. The restaurant introduced the concoction — minus the burgers — as a special and it has been a regular menu item ever since. 1238 DeKalb Ave. 404-577-4030. www.foxbrosbbq.com.

Continue reading Mouthful…

(Photo by Jennifer Zyman)

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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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On the case: Kraig Torres stocks his beer store, Hop City, for its April 2 opening

The Westside is looking more and more like a beer Mecca. Hop City, a craft beer and wine specialty store, will open this week across the alley from the soon-to-open 5 Seasons Westside in the Brickworks complex on Marietta St. Along with beer and wine, Hop City will also stock beer-making supplies, a rarity in Atlanta.

Owner Kraig Torres will host a Grand Opening party on Thursday April 2 at 5 Seasons that will feature nine craft brewers, including local favorites Terrapin, 5 Seasons, Sweetwater, and Atlanta Brewing Company. There will be free beer samples, food and live music from 6-9 p.m.

Torres is the self-proclaimed “beer guy” in the operation, with his general manager, Doug Schaller, handling the wine side of the aisle. Torres will stock about 1,000 varieties of beer, along with about 800 wines. The store will have a 12-door cooler for beer, as well as a chiller on hand to prep those large, single bottles of American craft beer and Belgians.

(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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HOUSTON’S: This long-standing go-to spot for classic American fare serves one hell of a veggie burger. The patty—made in-house with brown rice, black beans and oat bran—is glazed with sweet soy sauce, covered with melted Jack cheese and nestled on a buttered bun toasted on the griddle. It also comes with a large mound of the restaurant’s famous shoestring fries. 2166 Peachtree Road. 404-351-2442; and other locations. www.hillstone.com.

THE PORTER BEER BAR: This Little Five Points beer bar’s veggie burger uses a homemade organic black bean and quinoa patty that is at once hearty and light. A smattering of briny feta, shaved red onion, lettuce, tomato and heady red pepper mustard elevate this over the string of mushy competitors. The kitchen opts for a focaccia style bun encrusted with caramelized onions. And each burger comes with the much-improved garlicky fries or an arugula salad. 1156 Euclid Avenue. 404-223-0393. www.theporterbeerbar.com.

VEGGIELAND RESTAURANT: Join the throngs of regulars at this tiny and hidden vegetarian restaurant in Buckhead. Veggieland makes its own patty with oats, brown rice and other secret ingredients. Depending on your preference, the restaurant fries the patty to a crunchy crisp or griddles it before placing it on a whole wheat bun. The burger comes with your choice of trimmings—guacamole, vegetarian cheese, etc.—and a side of sweet potato fries. Try it with a smear of the tofu-based “Ranch” dressing for a little tang. 211 Pharr Road. 404-231-3111.

(photo by Jennifer Zyman)

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FILL 'ER UP: The dining room at Leon's Full Service

Every time I go to Decatur, I feel like I’m an extra in a movie set in a small town. Friendly people pace the sidewalks with their friendly dogs or head to friendly coffee shops like Java Monkey, where a poetry reading was underway Sunday night when we passed by. Really, in Decatur, I feel like Mr. Rogers.

Please, won’t you be my neighbor? I’ll buy you big mugs of draft beer at Leon’s Full Service (131 E. Ponce de Leon Ave., 404-687-0500) and feed you slightly strange food. It’s a beautiful night to get wasted in this neighborhood.

Actually, I don’t drink, but Wayne makes up for that. And he had plenty of company during our Sunday night visit. Leon’s, open about 10 days, was packed with a 30-minute wait for a table.

This new gastropub has been opened by the same folks who own the nearby Brick Store Pub. The name derives from its original use as a gas station. Although at least two retail businesses preceded this latest use, there’s still a faint ambiance of the filling station, mainly in the large windowed garage door. But most gas stations don’t have a boules court right outside the door, as Leon’s does. (more…)

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BAR CODE

Whatever happened to the word “bar”? Where’s the respect for good, old-fashioned bar food? These days, the new generation of business owners do not open bars. They open gastropubs.

The gastropub concept turned up in Atlanta last year with Concentrics’ TAP, followed most notably this year by Holeman and Finch, along with a host of other spots. In recent months, three places in particular have garnered a lot of attention: the Porter in Little Five Points, the BookHouse Pub in Poncey-Highland, and the Bureau in the Old Fourth Ward. I wondered what made these places that different from any other bar in town that serves food. How would they compare to say, Atkins Park – arguably the oldest bar in the city?

At the Porter Beer Bar (1156 Euclid Ave., 404-223-0393, www.theporterbeerbar.com), the main difference is the beer. The Porter has around 200 beers, from hop-heavy American microbrews to gueze to Belgian tripels and quadruples, and not one watered-down domestic among them. For beer lovers, the list is a true joy to behold.

So, that covers the “pub” aspect, but what about the “gastro”? The main claim to the Porter’s foodie fame is the résumé of its owners. Nick Rutherford and Molly Gunn both worked at Seeger’s, the now closed Atlanta temple to haute cuisine. Rutherford went on to make a splash at the Chocolate Bar in Decatur. (more…)

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Shmaltz, the celebrated Jew brew, is co-hosting a chug fest at Muss & Turner’s Mon., Dec. 15th and a “Chanukah vs. Xmas” dinner at The Porter Wed., Dec. 17th, featuring their newest beer, Jewbelation Twelve.

This was too funny to paraphrase:

JEWBELATION: Rising to 12% alcohol, brewed with 12 malts and 12 hops, bringing a nearly miraculous warming glow to store shelves nationwide from October 2008 through March 2009.

This anniversary, candles won’t be the only thing getting lit!

Behold the fifth incarnation of Jewbelation: our 12th Chosen Beer in 12 Years of Shmaltz. Coincidence? Destiny! Let’s play the Dozens:

The first batch of HE’BREW came to life in California’s 12th Congressional District. 12 pairs of cranial nerves leave the brain. 12 pairs of ribs cage the human frame. 12 inches in a foot. 12 men walked on the moon. 12 months in a year. 12 signs of the Western and Chinese Zodiac. Jacob begat 12 sons who begat the 12 Tribes of Israel. 12 Olympian gods rule the Pantheon of ancient Greece. Jesus had 12 disciples; Muhammad 12 Imams (successors). 12 angels sit at the 12 gates of heaven. Norse warrior-poet god Odin produced 12 sons. The Priests of the Temples of Syrinx proclaim the Brotherhood of Man in 12 songs on Rush’s 2112. Son of a Rabbi, Harry Houdini ran away from home at age 12. In 1912, he reigned as World’s Greatest Escape Artists breaking out of an underwater cage in NYC’s East River @ debutin ghis famed Chinese Water Torture Cell in Berlin. At 12, Courtney Love failed to join the Mickey Mouse Club auditioning with Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy.” The 12 Step Program, the core of AA, spawned over 200 fellowships including Workaholics Anonymous based in Menlo Park, CA. “A scout troop consists of 12 little kids dressed like schmucks following a big schmuch dressed like a little kid.” -Jack Benny.

To the growing minyans of the Schmaltz Tribe, light up the season with our most miraculous Jewbelation yet.

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

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This strange apparition, shot with my mediocre camera in practically no light, is the grilled Caesar salad at The Porter Beer Bar (404-223-0393), the latest gastropub to open in town.

Located in Little Five Points at 1156 Euclid Ave., The Porter has received a lot of attention since owner-chef Nick Rutherford and sous-chef Austin Dreier are both former employees of the defunct Seeger’s, long regarded as one of the nation’s best restaurants. Molly Gunn, Rutherford’s fiancee and co-owner, also worked at Seeger’s. Rutherford was last at the Chocolate Bar in Decatur, where he produced some of the city’s most whimsical desserts.

This partial decontruction of the classic Caesar salad includes a grilled “boat” of Romaine lettuce, stuffed with white anchovies, aged Asisago and some garlicky croutons. My entree was a special of beef Stroganoff made with meatballs. It’s great, slightly kinky food at low prices. And there are over 100 bottled and draft beers avaialable.

The new gastropub has been attracting capacity crowds, so you might want to go early….or late. It’s open until midnight every day except Saturday night when it closes at 2 a.m. I’ll have more to say in next week’s Grazing column.

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Restaurant openings are notoriously uncertain timing-wise, in part because so many licenses have to be granted. But getting a liquor license is often one of the last hurdles before opening day. These places have just been granted liquor licenses, which may mean they will open any minute (unless their contractor screws up, or one of the myriad other hold-ups occur ):

Aja, Tom Catherall’s Asian spot in the old Emeril’s location.

The Porter, a Little Five Points “gastropub” in the old Grandma Luke’s location.

The Bureau at 327 Edgewood Avenue.

The Bookhouse Pub at 736 Ponce de Leon.

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The Porter, a new gastro-pub coming to 1156 Euclid Ave. in Little Five Points, has posted its menus on a new website. The restaurant’s owners, two former employees of the defunct Seeger’s, are hoping for a September opening.

The menu looks very tantalizing. Take a look here.

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I noted in a recent Grazing column that gastropubs are threatening to overtake tapas venues as the biggest trend in restaurant openings in our city.

The latest issue of Knife and Fork confirms that two newbies are coming to booming Edgewood Avenue — Bureau and Miso Izakaya, a Japanese pub I mentioned a few weeks back. A third, The Porter, is coming to Euclid Avenue in Little Five Points. It’s being opened by some former employees of Seeger’s.

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