Atlanta area beer retail?

definitely check out Sprayberry Bottle shop in Marietta and Hop City in Atlanta.

 

Marietta, head to Mink's, then move out a little bit to Roswell for Ale Yeah!, it's a short drive. In L5P there's not much package but Green's on Ponce isn't far.

 

There's also a TW a few miles north of marietta in Kennesaw.

 

I haven't seen any prairie around in awhile. The first wave of beers went really quickly especially with the pricing error.

 

Bomb! may not be around, but I do see Birra and Prairie Ale on the shelves. We're supposed to be one of the states getting Christmas Bomb! but I've not seen it drop yet. Any day now, I reckon.

 

The Green's twitter said it should be 1-2 weeks out, last week. Also everyone in the ATL area should be following the Green's twitter because it's awesome. I follow it just to see what Macon may or may not see a week later.

 

I was in Macon last week seeing family and friends. I visited Lazy Dog Growlers and thought it was quite nice. I did ask about BCBS while I was there, and they didn't seem to know what I was talking about. But I thought it was a nice shop with a good selection (I'm a bottles kind-of-guy, not a growlers kind-of-guy), and I was impressed that they were able to operate it as a bar. That's something that's missing in ATL--we don't really have tasting rooms of that nature.

As for Green's: I'm a Hop City partisan, and that has everything to do with my proximity to Hop City from my office at Georgia Tech. I can walk over there in 10 minutes. But I did go to Green's on Ponce for the first time ever a few weeks back (and I've lived in ATL for a decade). I was impressed by the way they treat their beers (they have a "cellar" room with sliding glass doors, cool temps and dim lights) and their selection. Certain beers that would have flown off the shelves at Hop City (Allagash Nancy, for example) were still to be had at Green's. Very nice that a comprehensive liquor store treats their beer so well. Interesting clientele, too. (I went on a Fri. night and parked at the Murder Kroger.)

 

Macon just passed the law to allow growler stores earlier this year, and then passed the law to allow growler stores to carry two-way licenses this summer. It has been a very progressive year! If Nate, one of the owners, is in, he's fairly knowledgeable about what they've got on order and what he's trying to get. Check out Growler Spot next time you're in town too. They should be offering pints at the beginning of the year, but their bottle selection is a bit more focused on large format bottles.

Warner Robins has a similar law, but there is some kind of half wall scenario that takes place to separate the consumption area from the growler fill area.

 

Regarding your original question, I live in Marietta myself. So let me give you the lay of the land, as I see it.

For starters, Marietta is geographically large, so it would be good to know whether you'll be in East Cobb or West Cobb. If you're in East Cobb, I recommend Sprayberry Bottle Shop on Sandy Plains Rd. and Bullock's at the corner of Sandy Plains and Shallowford. It really depends on what you're after:

East Cobb

SBS is the best place to go for specific releases on specific days. To clarify, they make heavy use of social media and have a large following. So, that means that beers tend move more quickly than might be expected. Their main release day is Wednesday, with secondary releases on Fridays. If you're serious about going there, then you need to follow them on Facebook and be prepared to go over there if there is something you want. For good or ill, things just move quickly there. That's just the way Brij operates his shop.

Bullock's is more of a comprehensive liquor store, but they have a decent selection with good prices. Ask for Tommy or Mike when you go over there, and they'll steer you in the right direction.

If you're in East Cobb, you also have the option of driving down Piedmont/Barrett Parkway to Total Wine. Solid selection, but not much in the way of service. It's a "big box."

You also can go down Shallowford toward the Roswell Square and visit Ale Yeah! Roswell, which I highly recommend. They have a fine selection overall.

West Cobb

There really isn't much to West Cobb except for Minks, but they have a good selection. There are a few growler shops that have opened up, such as Schoolhouse on Whitlock Rd, but I really cannot comment on them.

Feel free to message again if you have any specific questions. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the information. I was in Columbus for business earlier this week, and I visited a shop called Maltitude, which was a fine shop. I spied a couple other growler shops, and they appeared to be pairing up with local bars to drive business. Further proof that there are great things happening outside ATL.

 

Ale Yeah and Sprayberry for sure

 

How's the Total Wine in Perimeter for shelf and local offerings?

 

Relatively decent, but you'd do better to go to an independent shop for local offerings. In my experience, Total Wine simply lags when it comes to local beer.

That said, they have a counter at the front where the "good stuff" is usually kept. And they do have a growler station, which Kennesaw does not.

If you're gung-ho about Total Wine, check their online inventory first. You can search all three ATL locations: https://www.totalwine.com/

 

Thanks for the info! I'll be up that way in two weeks on business and I asked this question before I booked a rental car. TW looked to be the closest retail store to my hotel. Now that I have a car, I'll more than likely drive to Sprayberry or down to Green's on Ponce to shop.

 

if you are staying near premimeter, then Sprayberry is going to be a haul...especially if you want to do it during the week. Traffic is a nightmare heading west from 400.

Much better off heading into the city and hitting both greens and maybe ale yeah in decatur and then grabbing a bite at Brick Store and heading back to your hotel.

You probably arent going to find anything at Sprayberry that you wouldnt find @ the 2 greens, ale yeah and brick store.

And going to Sprayberry from perimeter area is probably a 2.5-3 round trip during the week.

 

I was thinking the same thing unless he was willing to wait until like 8 to start his beer shopping trek. Otherwise I wouldn't go anywhere near that area.

 

I will add that Black Ops has started to emerge throughout ATL. For some reason, Whole Foods Market seems to get a bigger allocation of this beer than most shops.

 

What DawgPhan just said.