Atlanta & Savannah in September.

The Distillery in Savannah is a half mile from River St but they're the best beer bar in town.

 

I'm from SC but spent some time recently in Atlanta. I would check out Monday Night Brewery, and Sweetwater as well. In Savannah, I remember Moon River Brewing has a real nice brewpub. I haven't been in about 7 years, so hopefully it's still good.l

 

Living in Atlanta, a few tips. Max Lager's isn't bad, but you'd do better to travel a bit to The Wrecking Bar or Twain's if you want a brewpub. They are both miles ahead, with the Wrecking Bar being the best thing in Atlanta right now beer wise. Emory area you can hit Slice & Pint, just a year old now but great pizza and good beers.

If you're doing breweries, take Sweetwater off the list. Mediocre, overhopped beers and a crowd of fratboys. Nothing to see there. Monday Night and Red Brick for sure, Orpheus if you're there on a weekend, and if you can make it to Decatur try Blue Tarp, 3 Taverns, and Wild Heaven. Any or all of that will make your visit great.

 

If you aren't from the area, be aware that you can't just stop in a brewery for a beer. You have to purchase a brewery tour pint glass (usually $10-12) which allows you 6-8 samples of 8oz or less. You don't actually have to go on the tour and most people don't. Breweries can only sell beer to distributors, hence the workaround. Brewpubs function as you would expect, being part bar and part brewery. The point is, breweries are a cheap way to enjoy a bunch of beer, but expect to consume 3-4 pints of beer while you're there. Plan accordingly. Breweries can also have wacky hours, so check their websites.

Orpheus (ATL) and Creature Comforts (Athens) are new GA breweries worth checking out that should be on draft around town. If you like Sweetwater's beer (I do), the brewery is worth a trip. Keep in mind that it's huge, it will be packed, and they usually have live music. To RDMII's point, most well-known breweries in Georgia get kind of "fratty" because it's a cheap way to get drunk and craft beer is popular.

Buckhead is not really a beer destination. If you're near Emory, just go to Decatur (Brick Store, 3 Taverns, Twain's, Blue Tarp, Wild Heaven and tons of other options) or Little 5 Points (Porter, Wrecking Bar). I'm sure wherever you are, you can find a Taco Mac, which is similar to a World of Beer or Yardhouse and will have a ton of local options. I've heard Midtown has some decent beer bars, but I haven't been to them.

In Savannah I'd recommend Moon River (brewpub) near the river. While the river area is beautiful, it's not really a beer destination. If you're up on Broughton, there's a World of Beer. As bigdrewsmoove said, The Distillery is where you want to go if you're seeking out a beer bar.

 

For bars in midtown, there isn't much but I'd recommend Cypress Street, the beer can sometimes be pricy, but it's a solid selection and the food is awesome.

 

Lots of outdated advice for Savannah. I predict more threads about Savannah as a beer destination soon. Moon River is Savannah's only brewpub, and we have 10 house beers on currently. Two IPAs, a 10.5% DIPA, our WBC Gold Medal Bomb Irish-style Dry Stout, a Belgo-American Saison, etc.
Southbound Brewing Co. is open for tasting and tours, while Service Brewing Co. and Coastal Empire are still in buildout phase. All of the above can be found at respectable bars in town.
Places to definitely check out in Savannah include Crystal Beer Parlor, Green Truck Pub, Distillery, the Bier Haus, and World of Beer. All but WOB has great food, and each has a great atmosphere, full of history.
I'm generally in the brewhouse, shoot me a PM if you want to meet up for a tour and a pint.

 

Porter or Brick Store. Just go there and spend all the monies. Everywhere else is nice, but those are the best with Brick Store probably being slightly better than Porter.

If you have a week to kill, sure hit everything, but I would go brick store, porter and then brick store again before I went to any of the others.

For bottle shops same thing. Greens on Buford, Greens on Ponce, Ale Yeah in Decatur and then back to one of the greens.

 

If you're looking for good good in savannah, check out Zunzi's or Green Truck. Green Truck has a good tap/bottle list. Moon River has a good little beer garden, and then there's The Bier Haus who has a fantastic tap/bottle, sometimes cask selection - good German food too.
World of Beer has soooo many beers, and they're ALWAYS out of my first three choices. It's alright, if you like the sports bar atmosphere. September 6ish, a new brewery called Service Brewing Co is opening their brewery and taproom to the public. They're really close to river st. I haven't been to Southbound's brewery, but I've heard good things. Also the savannah craft brew fest is happening on Aug. 31st.

Hope that helps!

 

Also the Porter in Atlanta. I'm moving during the last weekend of August, or I'd say let's meet up for a beer or bottle share.

 

Hi

I thought I'd latch on to this thread and ask if anyone has any beer store recommendations within walking distance of the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta? I'm going to be at a conference there in early October and would like to grab some local beers for checked luggage back to Boston. Thus far I've identified only Mac's Beer and Wine and Trader Joes. Also, will probably put a separate trading thread out but may end up expanding to doing an IP trade if anyone's looking for Boston stuff.

Thanks!

 

You should be able to get to Green's Beverages & Hop City pretty easily by using Uber. The round trip should be $15 or less

 

Id take a short uber ride to Greens on ponce and skip trader joes and macs.

 

Thanks!

 

Mac's isn't bad, I wouldn't skip it unless you don't have time. I've gotten plenty of good, limited beers there before.