Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Restaurants Talking Head: Free (and cheap) Beer!
Posted by Jeff Holland on Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 6:24 PM
With all the new breweries that have come to Georgia in the last two to three years, the trip to the beer cooler at your local package store can be somewhat intimidating. Add to that the increased price of craft beers, and it can be difficult to plop down $8-10 on a 6-pack of an unknown quantity. That's where beer tastings and beer dinners come in. For little or no money, you can sample new beers and get a sense of both the styles and brands that are worth your hard-earned money. There is no shortage of opportunities to sample beers in Atlanta. Here are a few regular or semi-regular tastings that are going on around town, along with a few upcoming beer dinners.
Hop City Craft Beer & Wine store hosts free beer tastings most every Wednesday at Octane Coffee Bar & Lounge across the street from their retail store. Magic Hat beers will be featured at this week's tasting (July 15). In two weeks (July 29), sample beers from Sierra Nevada. Hop City has also teamed up with neighborhood caterer Figs & Honey, who operate Tiny Bistro, to host wine and beer events. Sign up for Hop City's email list or become a fan on Facebook to get updates on the featured beers.
Muss and Turner's in Smyrna has beer tastings every Thurday night, hosted by their Beer Maestro, Jessica Moss. Moss has a few surprises up her sleeve in July, with a new brewery tasting this Thurday (July 16), followed by a special guest on July 23. A tasting of the unique wild ales from Jolly Pumpkin rounds out the month on July 30. August and September will feature a series of tasting battles pitting regional and national beers against each other in one-on-one competition. A tasting of 6 beers is $15 and runs from 6:30-8 p.m. Shoot an email to reservations@mussandturner.com to hold your place, or call 770-434-1114 for more information.
Palate Wine Bar in Oakhurst also hosts a Thursday night beer tasting. The remainder of this month features some of America's best craft breweries, starting with Smuttynose Brewing Company on Thursday (July 16), Avery Brewing Comapany on July 23, and Oskar Blues Grill & Brewery on July 30. Call 404-373-4702 for more information.
Beer dinners require a bit more investment of time and money than tastings, but have the added bonus of great food chosen to complement the beers served. The Porter Beer Bar in Little Five Points is hosting a dinner on Wed., July 22 featuring beers from Danish brewery Mikkeller's single hop series. These are IPAs brewed with only one hop varietal, making it a great way to train your palate to the characteristics of a particular hop. I have tried the Simcoe, and it was wonderful. Cascade, Warrior, Centennial, Nugget, and New Zealand's Nelson Sauvin are also available as part of the series. The Porter dinner includes three courses and three beers for $30. Check out the bar's website for the menu and pairings, or call 404-223-0393 to make your reservations.
5 Season North and 5 Seasons Westside are hosting special beer dinners with a twist this month. Their Farm-to-Beer dinners will include 5 courses, each featuring ingredients from local farmers prepared by Chef David Larkworthy and his team. The twist is that the farmers will pick their favorite beer style and the brewers will pair a beer in that style with the dish. Hopefully brewers Crawford Moran will be up to the task. The first dinner will be at 5 Seasons North on July 22, with the Westside dinner slated for July 29. The cost for both dinners is $55 per person plus tax and gratuity. The dinners start at 7 p.m. To make your reservation for the 5 North dinner, call 770-521-5551 or email events.5seasonsnorth@gmail.com. For the Westside dinner call 404-875-3232 or email 5seasonswestside@gmail.com.
(Photo by Trico741/Flickr)
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