In a roundup of beer news, Georgia approves direct brewery sales, Oregon’s BridgePort Brewing cuts 13 jobs, Utah lowers DUI threshold, and Australian premier invests $1.5 million in Victoria brewery.
The nitro works well in Ode to Mercy—just enough to enhance the mouthfeel without tempering the toasted malt flavor or the bitterness and roastiness of the coffee.
Bierschnaps originated in Bavaria, where brewers with on-site stills often create a house spirit from leftover beer. Recently, more breweries outside of Germany are experimenting with the beery spirit.
Known for its eclectic dining, music, and arts scene, Athens, Ga., gained its third brewery in May 2015 when Brian Roth opened The Southern Brewing Company to brew beer that “tastes like Athens.”
Lenox Mercedes was raised in New York City during hip-hop’s golden era. Years later, he’s tapping kegs while Atlantans dance to classic beats at one of the beer festivals hosted by his company, High-Gravity Hip-Hop.
In one of only two states that still doesn’t allow breweries to sell directly to consumers, Georgia brewers rally together against restrictive policies.
At Orpheus Brewing Jason Pellett acts as an evangelist for beers that push drinkers’ palates, and helps carve out a local market for sour and funky flavors among more casual beer drinkers.
In 2011, David Stein boldly proclaimed that he would make the best beer Atlanta had to offer. When Creature Comforts opened in Athens, the prophecy came true, in a way. The brewery is one of the most raved about in Georgia.
Georgia’s Senate Bill 63, more commonly known as the Beer Jobs Bill, passed the state Senate in early April. Meanwhile, Kentucky has banned breweries from self-distributing throughout the state, reversing a 1978 court decision permitting Anheuser-Busch to purchase a Louisville distributorship.
And as Georgia’s beer scene continues to expand, The Porter Beer Bar in Atlanta will only become an increasingly important destination. In fact, Orpheus brewmaster Jason Pellett says it was integral to the creation of his brewery.
The Georgia Craft Brewer’s Guild has teamed up with several in-state breweries to launch Citizens for Georgia Beer Jobs, an initiative to make the state a friendlier place for craft brewers to do business.
Bob Sandage, a longtime homebrewer, saw something in the once-grand mansion in Atlanta—a home for his dream, a brewpub. In 2012, The Wrecking Bar received an Atlanta Urban Design Commission Award and a similar honor from The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.
While connoisseurs have long traveled to countries like Belgium to try monastic brews and farmhouse ales, the phenomenon of beer tourism in the United States is still relatively new.
Since starting in 2012, Scott Hedeen’s passion project—a nanobrewery tucked into a small industrial park in northern Georgia—has been invited to events like Chicago Beer Week and Hunahpu’s Day at Cigar City.
Droughts force California brewers to reevaluate water sources; Southeastern politicians seek to reinforce three-tier system; Shanghai beer festival spotlights China’s growing craft scene; and Cigar City’s Joey Redner on Hunahpu’s snafu.
The Brick Store’s selection has evolved into what it is today: around 30 taps, 300 bottles, a 900-bottle upstairs cellar and thousands more aging in a bank vault beneath the pub. Its 1900s-era building seems like it was always meant to hold the old and authentic.
The Alchemist closes cannery to public, promises new retail space soon; analysts believe time is nigh for SABMiller / AB-InBev merger; phony “Brew Dog” beer shop opens in China; and new beer laws on tap for Ohio, Michigan and Georgia.
Beyond alcohol limits, many Southern states struggle with taxes, breweries operating off-site brewpubs, various antiquated distribution woes, prohibitive homebrewing regulations and much more. But thanks to the region’s proactive beer makers and consumers, many of those laws are beginning to change.
When Trappeze Pub opened in 2007, its hometown of Athens, Ga., was known more for its music than its beer. But thanks in no small part to pent-up demand for craft beer in the area, opening night saw people lined up out the door for Trappeze’s expansive beer bible of a menu.
Churchkey Can Company ressurrects the flat-top steel can; interstate brewery expansions loom; study finds two drinks a day could be a life saver; Heineken bans branding of local brews during London 2012 Olympics; and new beer laws passed in Indiana and Georgia.
Savannah is a European-influenced city that’s heavy on charm and good times. Stroll the cobblestone streets, explore the notable squares, and visit the quirky bars that dot downtown—all without having to be beer-less between stops, since open containers are permitted in the 2 square-miles of the Historic District.
The Savannah, Ga., brewpub has a reputation as one of the more haunted locales in a town known for its ghost stories. Like those who fill the bar and dining room every week, they must like the beer.
