the "Month of BEER" in Atlanta

April - Beer Month. Who knew?

It has been quite the month for Grog in our fair hamlet of the south. Not long ago I couldn't even dream of 'high powered' beers in Atlanta, let alone write about them. Yee-haa!!! Many a party centered around beer and/or the appreciation of it popped up all over town and the gang has tried to hit them all. Let's see.....

4/2/09 Hop City pre-opening party @ 5 Seasons Marietta St. location: what a pleasure to see the 5S Marietta St location featured for the opening of Atlanta's TRUE home to the Craft brew scene, right next door. Hop City is still working out the kinks for the actual opening, but it won't be long. Enjoy a huge selection of 1,000 beers!! (and great wines too) The party featured samples of beers from all over the map, including the "Big Cheeses" from many brands pouring other peoples beer!! Dave Weil of Red Brick pouring with Sandi Lynch of Highland, Old Dominion giving up some Duck-Rabbit and Sweetwater pairing brews with free snacks from 5 Seasons' Gen. Mgr. Jeff Ashton. Proving once again that "Beer friends are ALL friends". No whining about bigger signs or better locations. Just good people, good beer and good times. Best of luck to both openings and our many thanks to them for enduring every kind of setback known within the industry. Cheers!!

4/5/09 Sweetwater Christmas Party: please check the previous blog for details on the fun.

4/11/09 Terrapin Anniversary Party: Unfortunately, I was unable to make it out to Athens for the fun and have not stopped regretting it. Please send in any info if you were there. Love to here about the details. Many years as a "Southern" beer with a secret brewing location made a few wonder why Terrapin didn't brew in Athens. Well they have been doing just that in their shiny new brewery just off the Bulldog trail. Giant brews, a loyal following and plenty of awards have made Terrapin a destination all its own. Check out Spike and John's local brewery whenever in Athens.

4/16/09 Beer Wars: Beer Advocate founder Jason Alstrom helped create this nationwide LIVE Event via movie theatre arrangements. Too Bad Hollywood 24 Theatres couldn't get the sound to work. Otherwise, I could tell you what everyone on the screen was saying. What a beer loving shame in Atlanta, also on hand in the dissappointed crowd were non other than;

Ale Sharpton - J'adore Magazine brew & Travel writer
Bob Townsend - AJC beer & food critic and general man about beer here in town
Chris Miller - Founder of the soon to be famous Beer Connoisseur Magazine
Dave Blanchard - Co founder of Brickstore Pub (no description required)
Rob Martin - General Wholesale Beer guru
Jordan Fleetwood - Brewmaster at Twain's Pub & Brewery

An evaluation of Craft beers versus the Giants of the industry was the gist of it all. I only saw blind tastings of Miller Lite, Bud Lite and Coors Lite in the first 25 minutes, then got my money back and went outside with the leaders of Atlanta's Covert Hops, homebrew group to enjoy a McSorley's Irish Black in the parking lot. Always be prepared.

4/17/09 Gordon Biersch Anniversary: I didn't make it over to Gordon's for their party either. Just too much going on!! After 20 years in the pub biz, GB celebrated with special brews, food specials and and a general good time in the Mid-town location. Sometimes overlooked by the craft beer crowd, GB and Rockbottom Breweries have produced some award winning labels over the years. Support small batches and get in sometime!!

4/18/09 420 Fest: Also known as my birthday, April 18th saw the largest crowd to date for the annual gathering of the Sweetwater beer fans' fundraiser for all things Earth Day. Only Sweetwater was on hand and I don't have a problem with that (it was a bit difficult to get a beer but that was probably a good thing) All flavors were on tap including the latest release fromt he Dank Tank, Double IPA featuring easy drinking blast of hops and a satisfying blast of % value. The weather held out for the most part and a great time was had by all I would be willing to say.

4/18/09 Atlanta Dogwood Festival: Proudly Sponsored by Corona, the fest provided a continuation of 79 years of art in the park and an easy drinking Mexican beer kinda weekend. Multiple brewing iterations from south of the border quenched the thirst of tens of thousands Saturday & Sunday, imagining themselves on the shores of Tulum or Playa del Carmen. Ahh Mexico, why doesn't AirTran fly there again?

4/28/09 Taco Mac Magical Mystery Beer Tour: April's installment of the Taco Mac Beer Dinner series, this one in the Lindbergh Station location in Buckhead. Probably 'SOLD OUT' again. These guys really keep doing a great job putting out unique pairings of great beer and great food. If you think you have eaten at Taco Mac, YOU HAVE NOT. Executive Chef Matt Deckard and Fred Crudder (beer guy) turn it up to Eleven every month. Get a ticket and get your Mystery Tour on!!!

April features:

Michael Plank - Germany - Heller Weizenbock & Dunkler Weizenbock
Brasserie la Binchoise - Belgium - Belgoo Magus
Ceylon - Sri Lanka - Lion Stout
Armacord - Italy - La Trabachera

That wraps it up but doesn't knock a dent in the keg of beer fun had in Atlanta this month, proving once again that with a little change in the political climate, southern cities can rule the beer appreciation world. Let's hope Alabama takes note one day. Until then, come on over the beer's fine.

Sweetwater Christmas Party/420 Fest

It was a bit late in the 'season' but the Sweetwater Christmas Party was a welcome addition to "APRIL, the month of Beer". (more about that in the next blog)

Founded over a decade ago, the Sweetwater brand has stayed true to it's roots from day one, right through to April 5th.

good beer and good times

The party put another nail in the cask that carries that mantra home everyday. The beer gods showered us with just enough of a light mix of sunshine and rain to keep away any wannabee brewery "fans". Otherwise, the event was classic Sweetwater, free music all day, complimentary tastings of beer with a glass purchase and samples of special casks of delicious grog. I stopped in for a few hours and more than few beers with Denise, Tryon and local beer nut Ale Sharpton. Also on hand was Chris Miller, creator of the new beer publication Beer Conniseur Magazine. Check it out http://www.beerconnoisseur.com

Freddy, Steve, Katy, Goot and the gang were all on hand, taking it easy and enjoying the afternoon sipping, talking and meeting other afficianados and beer nuts.

I hung out by the casks of The Creaper, hoping someone would tap one and I could enjoy some of the aging necter hidden within.

It didn't happen.

It won't be long though, word is that the first batch from the Dank Tank is being aged in burgundy oak barrels til this fall. At that point, a few kegs will get sent out to various pubs like Brick Store and the rest will be enjoyed by the brewery attending few. We hope to get a keg for HotoberFest tasting competition Ocotber 3rd.

Back to the party. Nick created a cask of Swiss Miss, an espresso and tequila infused version of Happy Ending as I recall. An extremely nice addition to an already satisfying brew. I love a little chocolate note on my stouts. I was too slow to catch the other cask release, couldn't even get someone to slow down long enough to tell me what I missed. Apparently IT ROCKED as well.

Switching gears, it's time to get amped up for the umpteenth annual 420 Fest!!!! ALWAYS a good time. The brewery founded this event as an expansion of the old L5P Pubcrawl I do believe. If you were not around in the old days for this one-nighter then you may not know of the fury that was unleashed on the bars of Little 5 Points back in the 90s (yes, the 90's kids). One night, 5 bars, 5 kegs, one marching band, one tray of munchies and any number of people crazy enough to join in (or get the hell out of the way). Once that reached epic & epidemic proportions, it was time to go official with a festival I guess.

Candler Park this Saturday & Sunday. Come early, stay late, get a Taxi. It is a kid friendly event with plenty of live music, food and info about helping our Mother Earth. If you have never been to 420 Fest and are thinking about going to the Dogwood Festival instead, then go on. If you're thinking about doing something REALLY fun this weekend, then come on down, I have you're spot reserved. Yes, I'm a 420 snob.

http://www.sweetwater420fest.com/

We'll see ye. And if we don't , we'll see ye.