I stopped in at New Realm Brewing Company in Atlanta, Georgia. They have quite a strong lineup of beers. If I had to pick my favorite of the ones I tried it would be the Oaxaca Choco Stout. Think spiced chocolate stout. Think dessert drink. Think evening sipping. Yum! All of the other beers I tried were also good, as was the pretzel on the food menu.
I stopped in at Orpheus Brewing in Atlanta, Georgia and was really blown away by their barrel aged beers. They have a great solid lineup of beers. Their barrel aged ones had so many varieties and flavor characteristics and all that i tasted were delicious. Stouts all the way down 2 with the fall spices tasted like a spice cake and was perfect this time of year. The Ferryman with coffee and cocoa flavors also is tremendous!
I stopped in at Torched Hop Brewing Company in Atlanta, Georgia for dinner and a beer. The Brussels Sprouts on the tasting menu are delicious and the Granny Smith Apple Salad was a perfect and healthy dinner option. And, I had a hard time identifying a singe beer so I tried a flight. I really enjoyed the PowerThirst Pina Colada Kettle Sour – the pina colada flavor comes through and its a crisp and refreshing beer. And the Citrageddon Fresh Hop Pale Ale is an awesome hop-forward pale ale. Great food and great beers!
I stopped in at Scofflaw Brewing Company in Atlanta, Georgia. I had tried their POG Basement at a restaurant at dinner and loved it. So fruity and hoppy. I wanted to try something different so I went with Mango Dirty Beaches which is really mango forward and delicious.
I stopped in at Two Tides Brewing Company in Savannah, Georgia with a colleague for a beer. Well, I couldn’t decide so a flight of sours made sense. The Chromatose Blackberry Sour and the Obvious Answer Morello Cherry and Plum Sour were absolutely amazing. Enough fruit flavor to cut the sour but still sour and not sweet at all. Delicious. Dry. Would have been great with food.
Tasty Bois Imperial Stout with toasted marshmallow and coconut will go down in the record books as the perfect dessert beer. I’d throw vanilla ice cream in this all day long. Amazing!
The artwork is really cool too!
There are two reasons I write this blog. The first is that I love craft beer. The second is that I love meeting the people who make craft beer. This is a story about both reasons. When I recently traveled to Savannah, Georgia for business I contacted a few breweries that offered hours only on days I would not be in town. I heard from one brewery that they would not be able to accommodate a visit from me. However when I reached out to Coastal Empire Beer Company, the co-founder, Kevin Haborak, told me that I was welcome to drop by. So, I did. Today, on the way back to the airport.
Kevin arranged for his brother Chris to meet me, show me around, and allow me to taste practically everything on tap. These guys make awesome beer. Let me try to step you through a few of these. The Savannah Brown is a delicious brown ale, caramelly, sweet, malty, solid and very drinkable. The sort of brown ale you’d drink several of, especially say in the fall when there’s a slight chill in the air. The barrel aged version of this is like putting it on steroids. Wow! The flavor from the barrels makes it all that much richer. This puts it in the category of a sipping beer that I would enjoy after dinner instead of dessert, in a snifter. Perfect. Going a completely different direction is the Tybee Island Blonde Ale. This is a great option for hot summer days. Cans of this are perfect for the beach. One of these after cutting the lawn would be perfect. I also tried a pineapple, coconut and sea salt gose which is basically a secret weapon. Wow! This beer is off the hook! Its sweet and salty and tart all at the same time. My tastebuds were all over the place. Let me wrap with Dawn Patrol. Think Imperial Stout. Think Chocolatey goodness. Think Mole. Think Peppery Spices. Wrap all four of those together. KaBam! This is crazy good.
If you line in Savannah or are visiting Savannah you must stop in here. There’s at least one beer for every person’s tastebuds. You will love this beer. I need to figure out how to get distribution north to Maryland. The rest of the country needs these beers. Chris and Kevin, thank you for taking the time to meet with me. Thanks for the snifter. I will eagerly anticipate drinking Dawn Patrol from it in the comfort of my own home some day. And, I’m hoping to bring my wife to Savannah at some point and will definitely stop in to see you when I do. Keep up the great work!
I stopped in at Southbound Brewing Company in Savannah, Georgia and tried some of their beers. I especially enjoyed the Picture of Nectar Double IPA. Other brews were tasty as well. The taproom in the brewery is a cool place to hang out. Stop in if you can.
I stopped in at the Jail House Brewing Company in Hampton, Georgia and tried the Breakout Stout for something a little different from my usual. And I really enjoyed the roasted flavor with a touch of chocolate and a bit of hops to keep it from being too sweet. Very nice. I’m glad I made the trip.
I stopped at the Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, Georgia after driving all the way from Atlanta where I was located for a conference but I missed the brewery tour at Terrapin by ten minutes. What a bummer. I did get a chance to try their beers, most notable for me was the Hopsecutioner IPA. This is truly a hop lover’s IPA. Several varieties of hops are used in making it but they are blended with enough malt to even out the taste. Very nice and well worth the trip even though they wouldn’t let me on the tour.
I Stop For Hops 