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!

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!

Cans Are All The Rage In Georgia

@EagleCreekBrew takes it up a notch and becomes the latest small craft brewery in Georgia to add cans to their lineup! 

"We are pleased to announce our canning line has been delivered and we just signed off on our first 2 can designs! CANS coming soon! Very soon!!"

 

I have had both the Spot Tail Blonde and Low Country Pale on tap up here in Augusta, and they were great.  I can't wait to try their Hefeweizen and Dry Stout as well!