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!

Finding Craft Beer During Masters Week (Bottle Shops)

@The_Masters is here! Find a good bomber of Beer in AGS. 

After looking at where one can find good Craft Beer out on the town in AGS, let's take a look at where you can good to fill your fridge with the same.

As with restaurants and pubs around here, there are plenty of places to buy beer.  But there only a handful which can scratch the Craft Beer itch.

Toast Wine & Beverage

There are a trio in my mind that offer the best selection in the Augusta area. First is Toast Wine & Beverage (417 Fury's Ferry) in Martinez.  Located close to where a lot of folks will be staying, this outlet strives to bring in new and different craft, and is extremely responsive to customer input and requests.They probably offer the most diverse and freshest selection that you can find in the CSRA.



Close behind are the related stores, Beverage Outlet (247 Bobby Jones Expy, Martinez) and North Augusta Wine & Beverage (1135 Knox Ave, North Augusta, SC).  Beverage Outlet is also pretty conveniently located on a major thoroughfare, and sports a large beer selection with probably the overall largest Craft selection in town. 

Beverage Outlet

Just across the river, it's SC cousin NA Wine & Bev also offers a nicely diverse craft line-up.  An added benefit to it being located in another state, is that this outlet can often get some brews that are not distributed inside Georgia.  If you are staying in Aiken, or near downtown, they will be an easy trip.


A few  other locations offer smaller, but usually worthy Craft offerings.  One is in Surrey Center, right near Augusta National, is White Horse Wine & Spirits (497 Highland Ave).  Size wise they are tiny, but they still manage to offer some pretty good Craft names.  A second way up on the north end of Washington Rd, but near really nice neighborhoods where patrons rent houses for the week.  Woody's Wine & Spirits (5121 Washington Rd, Riverwood Town Center) strives to keep it's smaller collection populated with good Craft, especially smaller regional offerings like Monday Night Brewing, Red Brick, Cigar City.   Closer in, in central Evans you can find Vineyard Wine Market (4414 Evans to Locks Rd).  

Wine World

Another is located literally just across the 13th St Bridge from Downtown Augusta.  Wine World (133 Georgia Ave, North Augusta, SC) is an eclectic little wine & cheese shop that has a large offering of beer in bottles.  Wine World I am told used to really excel at Craft Beer offerings, but unfortunately personnel changes have not allowed them to maintain that level.  Still a pretty good selection, but not what it used to be. Lastly, in Downtown Augusta, you can find Afficianados (307 8th St). 

Afficianados

This outlet is primarily a Tobacco shop, but they have a pretty good variety of Craft Beer.  They are a little pricey, and they don't sell singles (like all the others listed above).  However, the one thing that currently sets Afficianados apart is that it has the CSRA's only current Growler filling station (but more is coming).  They have 7 taps, and the last I saw them last month they had 5 of those running regional Craft from Georgia's Eagle Creek, Red Brick, Wild Heaven, and Alabama's Back Forty. Tap #5 was New Belgium, and the are kinda regional now, right?

Earthfare

Somewhat surprisingly, you can also find some Craft selection at some local supermarkets.  Publix has some larger Craft beers, and can be convenient.  Augusta's lone Earthfare also has a better than average Craft selection.  Both now offer singles coolers, so that you can mix and match.  

Costco

However if you want to buy in bulk, there is always Costco. Inside the main store, they were carrying the Stone Bomber 4-Pack last week, and the outside Liquor store had a good variety of Georgia Craft (Sweetwater, Terrapin) and even Red Brick.

If for some reason you are up nearer to Columbia, SC (or down in Atlanta), you can find Green's Beverages.  I particular, Green's Piney Grove is an impressive warehouse with a huge selection of Craft .  Alas it is an hour away.  Green's Assembly St (Columbia) and Green's Atlanta, while still with good selections in their own right, don't approach the vastness of Piney Grove.  If you are up that way, stop in and stock up!


So there you have it.  Good Craft beer can actually be found in Augusta to help make your Masters Week a great experience.

Maybe when you you stop back next year, you should bring your growlers, and maybe we might even have a Brew Pub for you.  You never know....

Finding Craft Beer During Masters Week (Taps & Pubs)

@The_Masters is here! Find good Beer while you're in AGS.  

I give this town a bit of a ribbing by calling it "Beer Purgatory".  Truth is, there is plenty of beer here.  But not so much when it comes to craft beer and its culture, as can be found in other major cities.  This is Georgia's second largest city, yet we have no breweries, brewpubs, or homebrew stores.  We are just about to get two new growler fill locations (which will triple our current number...do the math), and we do have a some good bottle shops to speak of.  Taps can certainly be hit or miss.  Craft beer is starting to take over tap handles, but in most places Big Beer is more easily found than Craft beer.

So, if you are coming to Augusta to enjoy the 2014 Masters, and you want to enjoy good Craft Beer, where should you go?  Read on...

TAPS / RESTAURANTS: 

Nearest to Augusta National are the restaurants on Washington Ave between the country club and I-20.  To the best of my knowledge, most of what you are going to find here will be the "best" of Big Beer.  Locations like Somewhere in Augusta, Hooters, and Carrabas are going to have exactly what you expect.  Though SIA does do bottles as well, and has some OK selection especially from GA biggies Sweetwater and Terrapin.  Probably the same for TGI Fridays, Olive Garden, and Outback.  Bonefish occasionally will have an interesting tap, the same with Wild Wing Cafe, and I haven't a clue about either Tbonz Steak House or Rhineharts Oyster Bar.  Let's just put it this way....I have never heard the craft beer enthusiasts recommend any of these for good Craft Beer.  Lastly is Edgar's Grille.  I have not been there, but recently heard that they have a good selection, including Aventinus.  In my mind, if a place serves Aventinus, they are worth a visit.

Just to the south of the country club is Surrey Center (Corner of Highland Avenue/Berkmans Road at Wheeler Road), with a few popular restaurants.  Calvert's Steakhouse, Surrey Tavern, French Market Grille, and Oliviana's Grille offer a variety of food.  What they don't offer however is a wide variety of beer.  Again, pretty standard offerings, though the Tavern has a larger selection of bottles (with Sweetwater/Terrapin).  But for Craft Beer, the lone standout is new arrival Finch & Fifth. 

Finch & Fifth

While the selection is small (only 3 taps and 10+ bottles) it is all craft.  A recent survey found 21st Amendment Monk's Blood, Clown Shoes Clementine, and Uinta Hop Nosh on tap, with bottles of Bell's Two Hearted, Chimay Blue, Clown Shoes Gallactica IPA, Founder's Porter, Cigar City Jai Alai, Lagunitas Little Sumpin', Mother Earth Weeping Wit, Victory Pima Pils, and Stella Artois (OK, maybe it wasn't all craft).  To add to the party they also have both a charcuterie and cheese menu.  Good Craft Beer, smoked meats, and cheese pairings.  Finch & Fifth is definitely a place to go!

A little further south, you can find a trio of places on Central Ave that can provide you good beer.  Helga's Pub and Crums on Central both usually have a pretty good variety of Craft, along with good food to boot.  Additionally you can find Sheehan's Irish Pub.

The Bee's Knees

If you go to Downtown Augusta, which I recommend, there are many places to find alcohol.  Some more respectable than others.  However on the Craft Beer front, there are a handful that rise to the top.  First up is The Bee's Knees, a venerable Tapas eatery (don't miss the Smoked Gouda Nachos!) that always has a fresh assortment of good Craft Beer on 6 taps and numerous bottle selections.  Check them out and you won't be disappointed. 

Craft & Vine

Farmhaus Burger

Coming in right behind them are a trio of restaurants founded by the same ownership.  Frog Hollow Tavern, Farmhaus Burger, and the new Craft & Vine. With both Frog Hollow and Craft & Vine, you are going to find upscale (locally sourced) dining and cocktail experiences.  I am not sure of the current selection at the former, but C&V does offer a pretty good Craft Beer selection with 6 taps and 10+ bottles.  No Big Beer here.  Next door at Farmhaus Burger (again locally sourced) you will also find a good selection of Craft Beer with 6 taps and numerous cans.  Not only do these three use locally sourced produce, but they also feature some of the smaller craft breweries in Georgia, like Monday Night, Red Brick, and Wild Heaven.

Other notables downtown are Stillwater Taproom, Boar's Head Public House (including British ale served in imperial pints), the Whiskey Bar, Metro Pub & Coffeehouse, and new arrival O'Donovans Irish Pub.  Metro and O'Donovan's both are doing a solid for Georgia craft beer, with Monday Night Brewing and Red Hare, and Red Hare and Southbound Brewing respectively.  Last but not least are the two big local pizza restaurants, Mellow Mushroom (15 major label taps) and Pizza Joint (30 mostly major label taps, along with Georgia's Eagle Creek and Southbound).  Both also have locations up in Evans, so more on them later.

Near the I-20/520 Interchange is Robert C. Daniel Parkway which is home to numerous restaurants and stores.  If you are in the area, your best bet for Craft Beer can be found at either the Carolina Ale House, or Buffalo Wild Wings.  The Ale House as 40-50 taps with usually a good Craft representation.  The same can be said for BWW and their 30 or so taps.  Both places of course have plenty of TVs and pub food.  Also of note, is the Limelight Cafe, with a good number of Craft taps on hand, but be prepared for a smokey environs.

Further up Washington Ave in the town of Evans, where a lot of Masters patrons will rent houses for the week.  While there are many places to eat, there are not too many places that one will find a good Craft variety.  Probably the best is the second location of the Pizza Joint.  Over 30 taps taps with a good rotation, to include the newest "local" brew, the excellent Eagle Creek Pale Ale and Blonde out of Statesboro, GA.  Further up the road you will find better pizza (IMHO) at the second Mellow Mushroom.  MM-Evans has roughly a dozen taps, and a good selection of bottles.

Aiken Brewing Co.

Like a good number of folks, you might be staying up in Aiken, SC.  While I don't get up there very often, it is the home of the regions one and only brewpub.  The Aiken Brewing Company features a line-up of 5 beers brewed on premises, and full menu.  The tap offerings are constantly rotating from their stable of 19 brews.  If you are up in horse country, visit downtown Aiken and check them out.

About an hour north of Augusta on I-20, you will find the capital of SC, Columbia.  Being a capital city, they have numerous locations for Craft Beer consumption.  In the downtown area, you can find Flying Saucer, World of Beer, Liberty Taproom, Hunter Gatherer, Thirsty Fellow, as well as another Mellow Mushroom.  An embarrassment of riches...

Keg Cowboy

Finally, just south of Columbia is Lexington, SC.  Just off of I-20, you will find two gems in this small hamlet.  First is Keg Cowboy, which is half homebrew store, half pub/growler station.  Constantly rotating taps with high quality Craft.  Also in town is the newly opened Old Mill Brewpub.  Early reports have them serving a few of their own brews, as well as up to 20 more taps and many more bottles.  Sounds like a good place for lunch!

So that was a brief rundown of beer reality in the CSRA.  There are certainly lots of places around here to eat that can get you a beer, but not all that many that can serve you a good Craft Beer.

Next up....Bottle Shops!