Columbia Beer Envy

@CraftAndDraftSC has opened for business!

Columbia, SC has just added to an impressive and growing list of craft beer offerings with 'Craft & Draft'.  While the city is only an hour or so away, I rarely get up there for a variety of reasons.  I may need to rethink that now that they have yet another beer locale downtown.  

Their initial tap list does look impressive, with an all-Carolina line-up. Now if they can get NoDa Hop, Drop & Roll on tap...

"Check out our draft list! We will sell growlers to go and pints on premise from any of our 12 rotating taps. We will (try to) post a picture of our draft lineup each morning, so stay tuned to our social media pages for the latest info! Thanks again, and see you soon beer lovers! #CraftBeer #DrinkLocal"

 Good luck guys!  Hope to see you soon!

 

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...