Friday, May 15, 2009
Restaurants Talking Head: New brew review
Posted by Jeff Holland on Fri, May 15, 2009 at 4:34 PM
New beers are popping up all over this month, from new-to-Georgia breweries, to special casks and limited edition releases, to spring and summer seasonals from local and national breweries. It can be a bit overwhelming. I suggest you you just take it One Beer at a Time.
Bell's Weather. Monday marks the Georgia debut of beers from Bell's Brewery, and a number of local bars have events to mark the occasion. The Brick Store Pub will have a rare cask of HopSlam, the brewery's much-drooled over double IPA, which will not be part of the regular Georgia portfolio until next year's release in January. There will also be a keg of Special Double Cream Stout. Starting Tuesday, Taco Mac will be tapping Bell's Amber Ale, Pale Ale, Porter, and Oberon, with a sixtel of HopSlam and Expedition Stout at the Kennesaw location. Check with your neighborhood store to see what is pouring. The Porter Beer Bar in L5P will host a Bell's Beer Dinner on Tues., May 26. Check their website for details. Look for a full story on Bell's next week.
More, more, more. Speaking of Taco Mac, there's enough new stuff rolling out at their stores to keep you half-lit well into June. This weekend was the debut of Terrapin's 30 Strong Ale, brewed especially for Taco Mac's 30th anniversary. Thirty years is a long time in the restaurant business, and Taco Mac certainly deserves a special toast for turning its little Va-High pub into a beer bar empire. I remember experiencing some of my first world-class beers at that original store back in the early 80s when I didn't know a hefeweizen from a doppelbock. Terrapin's 30 Strong has a ridiculous 30 ingredients that includes 19 kinds of malt, 8 varieties of hops, water, and yeast, and is aged on oak spirals. It clocks in at 8.8% ABV. Now that's extreme!
As if that's not enough, Taco Mac also has the latest Sweetwater Dank Tank release, a DIPA called Big Medlin. I got a taste of this at Summits in Snellville recently, and it is delicious. The Decatur, Greenbrier Mall, and Canton locations have some cask-conditioned kegs of Lagunitas IPA, Undercover Investigation Shutdown Ale, and Correction 2009. And that doesn't even include the stuff from New Belgium. Whew! Check Taco Mac beverage manager Fred Crudder's blog if you are having a hard time keeping up.
And so on and so on. At least two other breweries are beginning distribution in Georgia this month. Beers from Pennichuck Brewing Company, should be in stores now and Taco Mac in Kennesaw and Old Milton should have them on tap. The lineup from this small brewery out of Milford, New Hampshire includes Chief's Imperial IPA, Halligan IPA, Feuerwehrmann Schwarzbier, Engine 5 Red Ale, Pompier Barleywine and Saint Florian's Doppelbock. Their German-style schwartzbier won a gold medal at last year's Great International Beer Festival, and their Oktoberfest has won a medal at the same festival for 3 years running. Also, Moylan's Brewery of Novato, CA will be hitting the Georgia market starting next week. The Brick Store will have the IPA, Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale, Tipperary Pale Ale, and the Hopsickle Imperial IPA starting Fri., May 22. The Hopsickle is pretty much as advertised, like sucking on a stick of hop cones. A true test of your devotion to the Hop God. Be afraid, be very afraid.
French Broad Beer Dinner. Muss & Turner's in Smyrna will be hosting a beer dinner on Mon., May 18 to mark the entry of French Broad Brewing Company to the Georgia market. The dinner will feature the brewery's Gateway Kolsch paired with Tybee Island shrimp in a watercress salad, Altbier served with a salmon crudo with hot chili oil, Ryehopper matched with house-cured Berkshire ham, 13 Rebels ESB alongside a hanger steak au poivre, and the Wee Heavy-er Scotch Ale and a dark chocolate raisin bread with caramel ice cream and raspberry puree. Only 28 seats are available, so make your reservation by emailing a request to reservations@mussandturners.com or calling the restaurant at 770-434-1114. The cost is $55 per person plus tax and gratuity.
And finally,
Doppelbock, Schmoppelbock. Shmaltz Brewing Company, makers of the He'Brew line of Chosen Beers, has launched the "Second Coming" of its Rejewvenator fruit-infused harvest seasonal. Rejewvenator is a hybrid concoction that starts as a doppelbock cold-fermented with lager yeast, and is then top-fermented at cellar temperature with a Abbey-stlye Belgian yeast. To further muddy the stylistic waters, fruit is added as a nod to the Old Testament tradition of harvest celebration. Last year's version was made with figs; this year's version uses 400 gallons of date juice added to the fermenter. At 7.8% ABV, it is no spring lightweight, though. Look for it in 22-oz. bottles at liquor stores near you.
Comments (4)
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Glad to hear that Bell's will finally come to GA! I have been waiting gor it for a while now....
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nice article...you might mention that New Belgium beers are now available at Green's and HopCity including their famous Fat Tire.
No need, Will. You just did. Actually, I covered the New Belgium arival last week. http://tiny.cc/N6ELx. I figured it would show up pretty much everywhere this week since it is being distributed by Atlanta Beverage, the distributors of AB-Inbev products. Should be in grocery stores by now.
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