Beer from South East?

Won't have any problem finding the Bells except for Hopslam. It came out at the beginning of the year and probably not optimal drinking at this point. I'd say pick up some Terrapin. If you can get your hands on some NoDa Hop, Drop n Roll then by all means do so. Check for Westbrook brews (Gose or their IPA). You may stumble into a bottle of Mexican Cake and you should buy it. Should be out in a few weeks, and will be a hot ticket. Sweetwater brewery makes some good stuff too.

Edit: NoDa doesn't distribute to GA according to seekabrew.com. I had no idea. But, if you have time for a trip to Asheville or Charlotte, grab some. Also, if in Asheville, stop by Wicked Weed. Try their Freak of Nature DIPA. Trust me on this.

 

First of all, we don't get Surly in ATL. I wish.

We do get Cigar City, but only sporadically and just the two beers that you've identified. Note that there is a temporary shortage right now while they bring on a new canning line.

Other breweries? Start with Westbrook if you want the hottest beer going right now. Gose is a killer seasonal, and the much anticipated Mexican Cake will be out soon. One Claw and White Thai are great, too.

And partly because of Westbrook, we get a good selection of Evil Twin beers, which are nice if you're into off the wall, fun brews.

We do get Founders, which, like Bell's, I believe is not widely distributed out west.

As for local breweries, Sweetwater, Red Brick, and Terrapin all produce beers of note. Up-and-comers include Red Hare (albeit limited selection in cans), 3 Taverns (Belgian inspired), and Burnt Hickory (which gets buzz but hasn't begun canning--yet).

 

Terrapin-Hopzilla, Thomas creek -Up the creek 12%,Sweetwater-420,Westbrook-Westbrook IPA, Red brick-Hop circle,3 Taverns, Oskar Blues-Pale ale , Ten Fidy, just a few and there's more.Theres a new one called Jekyll Brewing - Hop dang diggity is there IPA. Almost forgot Monday Night Brewing Atlanta local favorite Drafty Kilt is their flagship smoky scotch ale.Also some selections from Jailhouse brewing withe Breakout stout and Conjugal visit.

 

Get some Sweetwater

 

Greens and Tower Liquor Store have one of the best selections. Toco Giant has different ones . Cheers brother!

 

Definitely Burnt Hickory you should drink while you are here.
There is also Jekyll brewing out of Alpharetta that is pretty good.
Reformation is a fairly new one near me in woodstock (like 20 min north of Atlanta) but like Burnt Hickory you can only get a growler of it or on tap.
Cheers for when you're back!

 

Oh! There is also Jailhouse Brewing (Hampton, GA) you can get in atlanta as well! Some good stuff.

 

Sorry one more i forgot! Orpheus Brewing, they are putting there beer out some time this month. they are almost completely set up in the brand new Piedmont park brewery. they are brand new and I have talked to a few guys there and I'm excited to check them out.

 

Haha I appreciate it! I just try to help when I can, plus I know everyone on here would do the same for me! Only sad part is most of these you will need to hit up a growler store or nicely stocked bar to get your hands on.

 

I travel there for business, too. Good local recommendations and I LOVE going to Taco Mac and having a few good draft beers.

Not sure what part of town you go to but if you're looking for beers distributed from other states, try and find a Total Wine store. You may not find many special releases but you'll find a good selection of the regular line up beers that are distributed to the area. I'm not always a fan of "big box" stores but in this case, you'll find a big selection of beers you don't have in CA.

 

What about Alabama? We have 27 active breweries, albeit most of them are not packaging, but you should be able to get Good People, Back40, maybe Avondale, maybe Beer Engineers. We also regularly get shipments of the regular Cigar City beers, mainly in cans.

 

Taco Mac is legit, but take a cab to Decatur and hit up the Brick Store Pub... you won't be sorry.

 

Visitors to Atlanta need to take short subway ride to Decatur, east of city center. Great beer scene: Brick Store, Leon's, the Marlay, Kimball House, Twain's, Square Pub, at least 5 more within a stagger of subway stop. All make a point to focus on local brews. Even 2nd tier restaurants have 5 great beers on tap. New brewery 3 Taverns here also, focused on Belgian styles, can get some in bottles.

 

I'll gladly confirm most of these recommendations. The Brick Store Pub is a world-class establishment. And, no, I'm not exaggerating--it was long ranked #2 Beer Bar on BA.

I agree with @khiasmus and @afiore11's recommendations and will add the Wrecking Bar and Porter Beer Bar to the list. Even second-tier places like the Bookhouse Pub and Cypress Street Pint and Plate are worth checking out.

Taco Mac is still fun (as is the recently opened Yard House at Atlantic Station), but ATL has progressed quite a bit in recent years.

 

NoDa doesn't even distribute to Raleigh, unless the beer stores make a run to Charlotte. Much less out of state.

Time for a trip to Asheville? Seriously, I know you're trying to be helpful, but that's a 3 hour drive one way, 6 hr total, plus time for shopping, it would kill an entire day.