Finding Craft Beer @TheMasters – 2016

Top places to find good #CraftBeer while you're in AGS! 

My third edition of this annual write-up won’t be as extensive as it has been in the past. Most things haven’t changed, and I would encourage you take a look at my 2014 & 2015 posts for some more in-depth expositions. 

So where do we stand in 2016? To answer that, lets look at the area’s newest craft beer developments. 

This Beer Purgatory will soon be the home to two (at least) new craft breweries! Just outside of Downtown Augusta, the newly opened Riverwatch Brewery is Augusta’s first brewery in ~90 years! Owner and brewer Brey Sloan has already begun production, and looks to have product on local taps for Masters.  Brey recently retired from the Army, has been homebrewing for years, and has a great business plan and Siebel schooling to stand on.  We cant wait for our first pint!

By this time next year, Augusta will also be home to Savannah River Brewing. The operation just received its tanks and equipment, and hopes to be up and running by this Summer. Just this week however, they ran into a bit of trouble when the received a Cease & Desist letter from The Masters for looking to name one of their brews 'Green Jacket Pilsner'.  I suppose we will allow them a Mulligan for that one.  Or perhaps a 'Mulligan Pilsner'....

Outside of this exciting development, what are the best places in Augusta to get your Craft on? Follow me… 

If you are looking for the best place to sit down and enjoy great craft beer variety, along with great food, then look no further than the block of 10th St between Ellis and Broad Sts. This is the area’s epicenter of craft beer, housing 3 restaurants that you should most definitely be on your visit’s itinerary. 

- Bee’s Knees (211 10th St; @beeskneestapas): Bee’s Knees is the has the longest tenure on the block, well known for its tasty small plate tapas (Get the Smoked Gouda Nachos!) and a good craft beer selection.  They have several taps and additional bottle/can selection, mostly of rotating and eclectic craft variety.

- Hive Craft Beer Bar (215 10th St; @hivegrowlerbar); Right next door to TBK is its new younger sibling. Hive features 76 taps, 58 of which offer an impressive and constantly changing craft menu, and a food menu with a yummy eclectic take of pub grub. You can also get growlers filled here as well. 

Hive Growler Bar

- Füse (1002 Broad St) The new kid on the block is built around an ever-changing menu of international and southern recipes using local ingredients. And to top it off, it has 30 taps of craft and another dozen or two in bottles.

Füse

If you are looking to top off you’re a growler or two during your visit, Augusta now has several places that can do so, which is a huge improvement over 2 years ago.  

- Gravity Growlers (341 Furys Ferry Rd, Martinez; @gravitygrowlers) Run by two years ago by two brothers who know their stuff, at Gravity offers 25 taps and numerous bottles of great craft beer. Visit them and you will not be disappointed! 

- Tip Top Taps (4317 Washington Rd, Evans; @TipTopTapsEvans) Opened just after Masters last year, Tip Top you can find 20 taps for growler fills. Convenient for those further up Washington Rd. 

If you are looking to find a bottle shop in order to build a craft six-pack, or buy a sixtel, there are three great choices in the area. First is Toast Wine & Beverage (417 Furys Ferry Rd, Martinez). Equally as impressive is the selection at sister stores Beverage Outlet (248 Bobby Jones Expy, Martinez) & North Augusta Wine & Beverage (1135 Knox Ave North Augusta, SC). Beverage Outlet is currently claiming 50+ brands available in kegs of various sizes. Both also have what seems to be acres of wine and liquor selections to finish out your drinking needs. Lastly, if you are pressed for time, you can find a fairly good selection at our new Whole Foods while out shopping for some gourmet eats. They have a 5-tap growler station, and have a good variety of craft single and six-packs to choose from. 

While we don’t have any Brew Pubs here in Augusta, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Aiken Brewing Company (140 Laurens St SW, Aiken, SC). This brew pub is located in the Aiken shopping district, and if you are staying North of the river, I would recommend you check them out. 

So that is it for this year....enjoy the golf, and enjoy the best Craft Beer that this Beer Purgatory has to offer!

AGS gains another Growler Store - Pt 3

My first purchase

After adventuring over to Lowes this morning, I stopped across the street for my first stop at Tip Top Taps, and picked up a growler of Smuttynose Finestkind IPA.

TTT just opened for business yesterday, and is offering 20 taps of craft beer goodness.   Buy a 32oz or 1gal growler for a one time cost of $5 (sizes can be interchanged for no charge), and fill it from your choice of constantly rotating taps for the cost of the beer.  Then drink & repeat.  Owner Marty Koger, who previously owned the gas/mini-mart at the same location, said that he was looking to reinvent his store and help fill a need for which the Augusta area has limited options.  The location also offers an e-cigarette/vapor counter, for those looking for nicotine, rather than hops.

Tap list and availability at tiptoptaps.com

A year ago, Augusta couldn't spell Growler, let alone fill one conveniently.  Now with 4 local growler stations, and a 5th one coming, AGS has plenty of options for great take-home craft beer on tap.

Augusta, lets make sure that they all prosper!  Drink up!

AHA Homebrew Rally in ATL - Jul 12

This @HomebrewAssoc event will be hosted by @MondayNight.  

Monday Night Brewing Company of Atlanta, GA is inviting all local homebrewers to an American Homebrewers Association (AHA) Rally on Sunday, July 12!

Join us at Monday Night Brewing Company!

- Enjoy Monday Night beer samples
- Learn about hops during an educational presentation from Monday Night brewers
- Take home a Rally-exclusive gift from the AHA
- Meet Monday Night brewers and staff
- Take a VIP brewery tour
- Mingle with local homebrewers
- Win great prizes from the AHA and Monday Night

AHA Rallies are free to current AHA members. Non-members can join now, or sign up onsite at a discounted member rate. Save time and fill out a membership form in advance to bring with you to the Rally. Don’t forget to RSVP to help us properly prepare for the event.

See you there!!

Craft Beer Politics in Perspective

@BeerSommelier points us to a warning from the Lone Star State. 
 
While #GABeer seems beset by politics influenced by a strong lobby with deep pockets, at least we are moving forward.  However once (someday) we as beer lovers achieve what we want with modern beer distribution and sales laws, we must not consider the war won.  Why not?  Just look at some states that have things a lot better than we do, and you will find states where progress is in the process of being rolled back  Take Texas for instance, a place know for its economic freedoms and strength, but not free of crony capitalism and the influence of those deep lobbying pockets....

Texas Brewers Are Ready to Fight a Bill That Would Kill the Craft-Beer Boom

Texas Rep. Senfronia Thompson filed legislation this week that proposed new limitations on craft breweries that operate in Texas. Specifically, her bill seeks to limit the amount of beer small breweries can self-distribute to 5,000 barrels a year. The current limit is 40,000 barrels.

Texas Brewers were quick to cry skunky suds. Thompson has long received large donations from organizations that lobby on behalf of Texas beer distributors, casting a dubious shadow on her bill, which would force small breweries to participate in the same distribution systems that cater to large, commercial operations. The move is decidedly anti-business, and Texas loves business goddammit.

[...]

The 5,000 number is also insultingly low. So low, in fact, it threatens to impact even the smallest brewers. "I brewed 3,500 barrels last year and will cross 5,000 this year," says Michael Peticolas, owner and operator of Peticolas Brewery and a lawyer who's active on legislation that effects local breweries. To continue to grow, he'd have to find a distributor, giving up his distribution rights in the process. Revolver Brewing, a larger brewery that also self-distributes, would be hit even harder.

Fortunately, the article concludes that the bill has little chance of passage.  But the effort demonstrates that the war is never won, and craft beer lovers must always be on guard.

Old Guard Biere de Garde Release

@GAAleTrail reports Savannah's @ServiceBrewing tonight released their Spring Seasonal: Old Guard Biere de Garde.

Continuing their effort to connect the community with their beer and mission, Service Brewing Company announces the release of their first spring seasonal, “Old Guard“ a biere de garde style ale. This special beer contains Yaupon Honey courtesy of the Savannah Bee Company and is fermented with the brewery‘s house yeast strain harvested in Savannah, Georgia.

[...]

The Beer
One of the greatest military honors is the privilege to serve with the 3rd U.S. Infantry, otherwise known as the Old Guard. This prestigious unit serves as the official escort to the President, and its members maintain a constant vigilance over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In 1996, the first woman proudly joined its ranks.

[...]

The Mission
Service Brewing is a veteran owned and operated craft brewery, in Savannah Georgia, dedicated to honoring those that have put their lives at risk and their country and community first. Their mission is not only to make great craft beer, but to donate a portion of the revenues to assist charities that support service. They brew their year round beer on a large scale, but maintain a small batch Research and Development division to enable experimentation and innovation using locally available ingredients to connect our farmers and consumers with their beer and their mission.

The beers from Service Brewing have two things going for them right off the bat.  First, they are #GABeers, and second, they are Veteran owned and operated.  Give them a try.

Service Brewing in my beer fridge!

 Obviously available here in Augusta...

GA Politics v. #GABeer, Round 1

Greased Palms take Rnd 1 w/a TKO.  @austinlouisray from @ctl_atlanta & @EWErickson bring the details:  

Decimated Beer Jobs Bill passes through Regulated Industries

After an eventful week at the Gold Dome, both sides of the Beer Jobs Bill fight convened once again in Room 310 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building Friday morning for a second hearing and voted in favor of Senate Bill 63, albeit a drastically altered version of the original bill designed to loosen the state's three-tier beer distribution laws for Georgia brewpubs and breweries.

The new version of SB 63, a committee sub (basically, a last-minute substitution for the original bill) proposed by Regulated Industries Chairman/State Sen. Rick Jeffares (R-McDonough), allows for no direct sales for breweries. Instead, it alters the current tour structure so that brewers can give away 36 ounces on-premises during the tour (compared to the current 32 ounces) as well as a "souvenir" malt beverage container of no more than 64 ounces to-go. In other words, what was originally a bill allowing direct sales has been reduced to a bill that expands on the current "free beer" tour structure, except that breweries would be able to charge various rates for tours (they sold glasses before, into which they poured the free beer) depending on how much beer is consumed by attendees.

As for brewpubs, they'll no longer be limited to draft-only production. In addition to bottle and can production, the new SB 63 allows for a growler provision similar to 2014's Senate Study Committee report. In short, consumers who buy a meal at a brewpub could also buy a growler with the meal, then take home the remainder of the growler that they don't drink with their food.

The only thing likable in this bill is that Brewpubs may now bottle and can their brews.  Though it validates the idiotic brewpub growler provision that says one has to drink some of the growler before going home....

Erickson provides some outlet for your apoplectic rage displeasure should you choose to do so (nicely please...).

They Gutted the Beer Jobs Bill

The Senate Regulated Industries Committee in Georgia has gutted S.B.63, the beer jobs bill. Breweries will continue to be prohibited from making direct sales to customers. Now, you’ll have to buy a tour and, in the price, be able to pay extra for no more than 64oz. of beer in a single container.

This is ridiculous. So many of these guys got major contributions from beer wholesalers and they are listening to them and not the voters.

Clearly we need a change in tactic. Try these phone numbers. They are their in-district office numbers. They won’t listen at the Capitol. Make them listen in their offices back home.

Tell them how angry you are that they gutted S.B.63. And then go find someone to challenge them in a primary.

Name                   District Number
Rick Jeffares       (678) 432-7676
Frank Ginn         (706) 680-4466
Joshua McKoon  (706) 442-9130
Ed Harbison        (404) 656-0074
David Shafer       (404) 497-0048
Renee Unterman (404) 463-1368
Brandon Beach   (678) 640-1811
Bill Cowsert        (706) 543-7700
Steve Gooch        (404) 656-9221
Steve Henson       (404) 243-5107
Jack Hill              (912) 557-3811
David Lucas        (478) 254-7600
Butch Miller        (678) 989-5301
Jeff Mullis           (706) 375-1776

While this may seem like a loss, perhaps there is some optimism to be had.  Ray points out that this is not the end of the line, for this bill or future ones...

"No matter how silly it may seem, the main thing is to get a bill passed," GCBG president and co-founder/president of Terrapin Beer Company, John Cochran, says. "Any bill. And we are thankful to the committee for doing that. We will work on improving this bill when we go to the House side. There really is a long way to go."

Get Out of the Way!

Here is why #SB63 should become law!

Get out of the way of brewers
KYLE WINGFIELD

Help small business. Get government out of the way. Unleash the free market. Encourage entrepreneurs. Grow jobs. Make Georgia more competitive.

Do you really need to hear any more?  Well, go read the whole thing anyway...

Craft Brew-volution in Georgia?

Help @GaBrewersGuild & call your Senator to support this bill! #GAbeer

Beer Jobs Bill On Tap in Georgia

A Georgia lawmaker has filed a bill in the state Senate that aims to repeal a number of Prohibition-era regulations that brewers have said are overly burdensome and restrictive.
 
The Beer Jobs Bill, as its dubbed, would allow for breweries to sell up to 72 ounces of beer per person for on-premise consumption and up to 144 ounces of packaged product to go. Currently, breweries are expressly prohibited from selling direct to consumers for both on- and off-premise consumption, though they can give away free samples. Likewise, brewpubs would be granted the right to sell beer for off-premise consumption under the same quantity limitations, should the bill pass as written.

 It couldn't come soon enough!  Though it currently would change craft beer availability here in Augusta, since we have no breweries or brewpubs....

AGS Tap Takeover - 18 Dec

Hey AGS, @BeesKneesTapas will host a @FoundersBrewing tap take-over tomorrow!

Wish I could get down there, but it is Cub Scout night...
 
Get your beer geek on!

"Our next BEER GEEK TAP TAKEOVER will be Thursday December 18th, 2014 with Michigan's FOUNDERS BREWING CO!"

That is all!

Ponce de Leon Beer Festival

This Saturday, @PonceBeerFest will be held at the Yaarab Shrine in Atlanta.

$35 for General Admission, $45 for VIP.  Doors open at 1pm, though VIP tix will get you in at 12 noon.

"With this festival we look to accomplish bringing out these new styles to the public and enlighten people on styles of beer. We would also like to surprise the beer lovers out there with new brews that they have not experienced. For example, many breweries are making a one off beer not available to the public yet. We are trying to keep it in a more intimate feeling with only allowing 1500 people in at the door. We feel this will be able to give the attendees more room to move around and try each beer selection.
The 2014 event will be an amazing experience in taste and sound being held on November 15th 2014 from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm."

This will be a very regional festival with the following breweries available to General Admission:

If you buy a VIP ticket, you will also have access to some special brews from the following:

Ticket prices will increase on the day of the festival, and part of the proceeds will go to support the Children's Hospital.

Enjoy!

Brewing for Gold!

3 Georgia breweries medaled at 2014's Great American Beer Festival! Gold for @MondayNight, Bronze for @creaturebeer & @CEBC_Sav.

From Creative Loafing Atlanta:

Each year since 1982, beer geeks have made their annual pilgrimage to Denver, piling into the Colorado Convention Center by the thousands for the Great American Beer Festival. There, they spend three days sampling beers from all over the country...

Also each year, GABF judges award gold, silver, and bronze medals to beers sorted by various styles. This year, more than 200 judges tasted and evaluated more than 5,500 different brews across 90 categories.... Three Georgia breweries brought 2014 medals back to the Peach State:

* Savannah's Coastal Empire Beer Co. won bronze in the Herb and Spice Beer category for its Dawn Patrol Breakfast Stout.

* Athens' Creature Comforts Brewing Co. won bronze in the American Style Brett Beer category for its Curiosity No. 2.

* Atlanta's Monday Night Brewing won gold in the Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer category for its Bourbon Barrel Drafty Kilt.

All three breweries are first-time GABF winners. Three is the most medals Georgia's won at GABF, and that's happened five times now: 2014, 2011, 2009, 2002, and 2000. This year marks the first GABF since 2007 where SweetWater or Terrapin didn't bring home a medal.

Congrats to all three, and here's to Georgia winning a few more next year!

AGS Tap Takeover! Sep 25

UPDATE!  I JUST NOTICED I GOT THE DATE WRONG.  THE TAKEOVER WILL BE ON THURSDAY THE 25TH!
 
Join @JekyllBrewing at 5pm in downtown AGS for a Tap Takeover @BeesKneesTapas. Word is they will even be bringing their Hoot'n 'n Holler'n DIPA to the party.

Amongst the beer geeks I talked to after the Augusta Beerfest, this was the consensus best of show.  And in my opinion was every bit the equal of the highly rated Citrus Ninja from @Westbrookbeer.

Stay tuned for future Tap Takeovers at Bees Knees:

October 30th  -  Eagle Creek Brewing (Statesboro, GA)
November 20th  -  Mother Earth Brewing (Kinston, NC)
December 18th  -  Founders Brewing (Grand Rapids, MI)

Follow the Peach State Ale Trail

Drink local and get the Beer Buzz on the @GAAleTrail!

Started in July, Georgia's new source for "Craft Beer news, reviews, events, & tours" is just getting rolling.

Like other examples of 'Ale Trails' around the country (see Asheville Ale Trail for a great example), the Peach State Ale Trail looks to become the go to resource for the enjoyment of all things beer in Georgia.

PSAT will highlight the Georgia Beer Buzz, profiles of local craft breweries, overviews of beer tours around the state, as well as a future section to display a "directory of restaurants, beer bars, growler stations, and bottle shops in the Peach State."

Definitely bookmark 'em and follow 'em on Twitter to keep ahead of news for your craft beer needs!

Beer Trading Made Easy

thebeerexchange.io

@BeerExchangeApp, the first web app dedicated to craft beer trading. 

Augusta beer lovers, have you ever wanted to get your hands on a beer made somewhere else in this great country, but is not sold here in Beer Purgatory?

Well, look no further than the online convenience of The Beer Exchange.  BEX is the product of Mark Iafrate from Charlotte, NC.  Mark is also a co-host (and fall guy) on the wildly entertaining Craft Beercast, a weekly podcast out of the Queen City by a bunch of guys who don't know how good they have it. ;-)

But to get back to the topic at hand....  

You live in Augusta, but you really want to try Heady Topper or Pliny the Elder.  Top rated craft beers that you will never see sold here locally, since they are never distributed outside their own region.  BEX will allow you to search out and find other beer lovers around the nation who possess those beers that you desire, and then set up a trade with them.  The only "catch" is that you need to have a beer "For Trade" that the other party is "In Search Of".

For instance, above is an example of a trade of a bottle of Terrapin's White Chocolate Moo-Hoo for a can of Alchemist's Heady Topper.  Not a bad deal, if you ask me.

Again, the "catch" is that you need to have beers that others around the country won't have access to.  Think Terrapin's various Liquid Bliss, Side Project, Wake-n-Bake, or Moo-Hoo releases.  Sweetwater's Dank Tank Series.  Westbrook Mexican Cake.  Three Taverns Quasimodo or Theophan The Recluse.  Well, you get the idea.  To land those "whales" that you would never otherwise get to try, you need to be able to offer something exclusive from our region in return.

BEX's Most Sought After Beers

If this sounds like something you'd might like to try, head over to TheBeerExchange.io and sign up.  Then go out and start building your southeastern beer cellar.  Good luck!

Augusta Nerdfest..errr...Beerfest!

@TheMetroSpirit has a great interview with reps from 4 Georgia craft breweries coming to Saturday's Augusta Beerfest.

Nerdfest
Its official name is Augusta Beerfest, but craft beer is serious business

If you think those who work for craft brewing companies are rock stars, they are....But if craft brewery employees are part rock star, they’re equal parts marching band geek.

Recently Metro Spirit sat down for a conversation about being small craft brewers in the south with Jonathan Parker of Jekyll Brewing in Alpharetta, Wes Sessoms of Red Hare Brewing Company in Marietta, Josh Kirssin of Monday Night Brewing in Atlanta and JJ Mercurio of Eagle Creek Brewing Company in Statesboro.

Here is a sampling:

"JK: I think the coolest part of beerfests is taking your domestic drinker and putting him out of his environment that he’s not comfortable with and testing his palate, see what he’s comfortable with and trying to figure out really what it is, because I was a domestic beer drinker when I went to Georgia Southern.

JJ Mercurio: I still am!

WS: Personally, when I go to beer festivals I start to treat it like a wine tasting. I have a restaurant background and we would do these wine tastings and you start with the whites and move on to the reds. Everyone’s got a lighter beer, a pale ale or a lager, so you start there and gear up to those high alcohol and those bigger flavors as you go on throughout the day so you’re not starting off with something like an imperial IPA that’s going to wreck your palate.

MS: Why IPAs? You all have one, right?
JK: Every brewery has an IPA.

JJM: We don’t. We have a pale ale. And I’ve given it to the nerdiest of the nerdy beer nerds and they thought it was an IPA. Nope. It’s a pale ale.

WS: There’s an emerging style between all of our breweries of an East Coast or a Southern IPA. It’s not as dark, it’s not as heavy of an IPA and that’s the thing that I have tried to tell people more recently, you know, don’t compare us or any of our IPAs to a Stone or a Lagunitas or any of these West Coast breweries because it’s a completely different environment. It’s hot here in the summertime. You can’t have an 8 percent, hoppy, dank IPA. That’s just not refreshing, so the one thing that all of us do is that style, more of an emerging, Southern style."

But the best part to read was this:

"MS: What will you be offering at Augusta Beerfest?

JP: Three regular styles and two specialty casks.

WS: The same for us; three regular styles and two specialty casks.

JK: Five and a specialty cask.

JJM: Two and two specialty casks.

WS: The cool thing about specialty casks is you’re not going to find that beer anywhere else. It’s just for this event. The beauty of it is that it’s super rare and super special; you gotta be there to have it. The downside is if you really, really like it you’re never going to see it again."

And that people is what beerfests should be about. Widening your beer experience, and tasting cool new things (i.e. specialty casks!) you may never see again.  Chances are, if you are going to the later session, you won't see those specialty casks...sorry!

Floating the Mainstream in New Bottles

@SweetwaterBrew intros cool new bottles embossed with logo, mantra, and a river scene.

Additionally, Sweetwater is introducing bottle conditioning into their lineup.  Here is their infographic on how it works...

Dont Forget About Beer Camp!

In less than a month, @SierraNevada will host #BeerCampTour at its new NC facility. Tickets are still available!

"Beer Camp Across America will feature seven stops—in cities with thriving craft beer cultures—moving geographically west to east, much like the craft movement has historically spread. Each tour stop will feature that city’s local and surrounding regional brewers. The festivals will appropriately begin and end at Sierra Nevada’s two brewing locations, kicking off in Chico where it took root in 1980, and culminating in Mills River, NC for the grand opening of its East Coast brewery."

This festival, the seventh and final on the 2014 Beer Camp tour, will be held on August 3rd, 1-6 pm.  Tickets will be $65, and of course you will have to be over 21.

Sierra Nevada is boasting: "...we’ve invited every craft brewer from these states to serve their beers at the Southeast Edition: NC, SC, GA, AL, MS, FL, LA, AR and TN—more than 300!"  

Right now it looks like over 120 have signed up, including these Georgia & South Carolina breweries.  
 

BLUE RIDGE BREWING COMPANY

Greenville, SC

BLUE TARP BREWING COMPANY, LLC

Decatur, GA

COAST BREWING COMPANY

North Charleston, SC

CONQUEST BREWING COMPANY, INC

Columbia, SC

CREATURE COMFORTS

Athens, GA

EVENTIDE BREWING

Atlanta, GA

HUNTER-GATHERER BREWERY

Columbia, SC

MOON RIVER BREWING COMPANY

Savannah, GA

NEW SOUTH BREWING

Myrtle Beach, SC

PALMETTO BREWERY

Charleston, SC

QUEST BREWING COMPANY

Greenville, SC

RED BRICK BREWING CO.

Atlanta, GA

RIVER RAT BREWERY

Columbia, SC

RJ ROCKERS BREWING COMPANY

Spartanburg, SC

SOUTHBOUND BREWING COMPANY

Savannah, GA

STRAWN BREWING COMPANY

Fairburn, GA

SWEET WATER BREWING COMPANY

Atlanta, GA

TERRAPIN BEER COMPANY

Athens, GA

THOMAS CREEK BREWERY

Greenville, SC

WILD HEAVEN CRAFT BEERS

Decatur, GA

WRECKING BAR BREW PUB

Atlanta, GA

So, if you are looking for a fun break to the summertime doldrums, hop on up to NC!

Georgia Beer Rising - Part 2

@GeorgiaTrend has a nice comprehensive overview of #GAbeer and its obstacles.

"According to the Beer Institute, Georgia’s brewing industry generated $3.5 billion in direct economic impact in 2012. That number includes breweries, distributors and retail sales. $1.9 billion of that number was generated by breweries alone. It sounds like a lot, but when you compare that to other states, some of which have three times as many breweries within their state lines, Georgia’s craft brew industry is still in the fermentation stage. Colorado’s beer scene, for instance, is an economic powerhouse, generating $14.8 billion in economic impact. Closer to home, North Carolina sees $7.1 billion in total economic impact."

The underlying tenor of the article is a positive one for those who want to change the current state laws that hamper micro and craft brewers.  By going straight to the source of Georgia's craft beer advocacy, the message of "change" gets some much needed highlighting.

“Georgia is way, way, way behind the rest of the country when it comes to craft beer,” says Pinkerton, who is also president of the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild. “All these new companies are starting up. They’re very small, and the barrier to entry is still really challenging in Georgia. Everywhere else in the country, you see their growth and you compare it to Georgia’s growth, you can really only point to one thing.”

No one is further out on the bleeding edge of trying to reduce those barrier of entry that then Georgia Craft Brewers Guild.  If you want to see this as well, I suggest you pop on over and become a member.

But perhaps the best part of the article was the statement of one big depressing fact...

“There are more breweries in the city of Asheville, North Carolina, alone than there are in the state of Georgia,” Pinkerton says. “Let that sink in for a second. More breweries in one rural small town in North Carolina than there are in the entire state of Georgia. What does that tell you?”

“Georgia has one of the most restrictive laws pertaining to microbrewing in the whole nation at this point,” says Freddy Bensch co-founder and “Big Kahuna” of SweetWater Brewing. “Everyone else seems to be embracing it and is proactive in trying to bring in new breweries and helping their breweries expand. But Georgia seems to be sort of lagging and stuck behind.”

Now, if only politicians in Atlanta would listen to reason...

T. Mac Daddy

Ever enlightened to beer in the ATL, @alesharpton gives us the 411 on @MondayNight & @tacomac's new brew, T. Mac Daddy Porter!

Alas....no Taco Macs here in the CSRA...

Statesboro Beer Envy

@EagleCreekBrew puts AGS to shame with quality #GABeer!

Looking for the closest production brewery to Augusta and the CSRA?  Well, dig out the binocs and look southward.  Then get yourself a DD, and head to Stateboro to try out the fantastic brews of Eagle Creek Brewing Co.


Fronted by the "youngest head brewer in America", Cole Brown, Eagle Creek is producing a line-up of four fantastic beers.

Cole Brown talk beer with the Augusta Homebrewers Association

Both the Low Country Pale Ale, and Spot Tail Light Blonde can be found on tap in the CSRA.  I have not yet seen the interesting sounding, and interesting tasting Grass Roots Lemon LimeHefeweizen, though it may be out there.  The fourth brew was their Puff's Magic Dragon Dry Stout, however I understand they intend to keep this as a winter seasonal.

I enjoyed all of these brews, especially the Pale and Stout.  The Blonde is very good, and very sessionable.  If you have a friend that won't give up their mass-marketed lite beer, have them try this.  And then once they're hooked, start working them into other craft beers!

Right now Eagle Creek is open for tours and tastings on Friday & Saturday evenings from 6:30 - 8:30.  If you are in the CSRA, grab some friends and a DD, and head down to Stateboro to enjoy the, shall we say, "generous" 5-oz tastings, along with live local music.  The Augusta Homebrewers Association finally made it down there, and had a great time!

Then come home and look for Eagle Creek on tap at your favorite watering hole.  And if you don see it....ask for it!

Oh, and before I forget, something else is coming soon as well...

Cans!