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.

'Ale' Sharpton beer editorial

A note about beer editorials for those who like to stay abreast of tastings, new releases and more. I want to try and bring attention to both classic and fresh sources for beer info.

Ale Sharpton, (yeah, really) is a great new face on the beer frontier, writing monthly for Jadore Magazine (http://www.jadoremag.com/magazine/jadorelifeandstylecold.html ). His schtick is traveling the country and sometimes the globe, tasting local brews, often in the brewery itself and with the Brewmaster.

Recently, I sat down with Ale at Sweetwater in Atlanta to taste the first release off the Dank Tank. This is the new 'one-off or experimental' fermenting tank the boys brought in so the brewmaster can get a few small batch (100 barrel) beers produced in a very informal way. His review of "The Creeper" (Belgian style Trippel 10%abv) is included in the January issue on IPA brews.

We went back a few weeks later and did a side-by-side tasting of 2008 and 2009 "Happy Ending", along with Brewmaster Mark Medlin, Minister of Propaganda Steve Farace and Sweetwater owner Freddy Bensch. Freddy's favorite beer from the brewery is a dry-hopped Imperial Stout (9%abv) that is insane, right outta the tap after only a few weeks in the tanks. An almost forest fresh blast of hops coated in a dew of yummy stout.

I have to admit that I loved the espresso notes on the 2008 bottle that I kept in the wine fridge all year, but it did loose all of the dry-hopping eruption that occurs in your nose and mouth with the fresh product. The 2008 being reminiscent of St. Peter's Old Style Porter or DuckRabbit Milk Stout, both winners in my snobby little black beer book.

All told, both were delicious in their own right to me. Freddy was adamant about NOT allowing Ale to review the 2008 at all or the 2009 until it was ready, illustrating his brewmaster heritage and focus on quality. For me, I will enjoy the aged 2008 (still have 3 big boys in the fridge) for what it has become and promote the 09' to be the most amazing Catch & Release brew from Sweetwater that I have had since.... well, 'the Creeper'.

And so I digress. Point of all this being, check out Ale Sharpton's articles in Jadore. He is a great resource to follow for a fresh new vision of our favorite beverage.

cheers!