The next time you overhear a fellow patron at a bar say something like, “Hmm . . . a faint nose of figs with soft notes of honeydew and a lemon-zest finish,” don’t assume that you’re tuning in to the snobby appraisal of a wine connoisseur. It could very well be a beer buff evaluating the latest designer stout or pilsner.
In a lively beer culture increasingly influenced by the booming business of microbrewing, the old line “How ’bout a cold one?” just doesn’t cut it anymore. Unprecedented variety is turning even the average Joe Suds into something of an aficionado. America’s 1,400 determinedly small and independent craft brewers are continually concocting adventurous variations on an ancient libation; over 7.5 million barrels of boutique beer are now produced annually. These days the local watering hole is often a passport to an exotic world of amazing flavors, where the most unlikely ingredients—from cranberries to cocoa—merrily mingle with barley and yeast. Consider the names of but a few of the current top microbrews: Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Alaskan Smoked Porter, Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, St. Boisterous Hellerbock and New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale.
“The phenomenal demand for microbrews is entirely consumer-driven,” says Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colorado. “It has nothing to do with advertising. People are looking for more flavor and diversity in everything. That’s why there’s such a vast range of breads and coffees now; the same applies to beer. Consumers are moving away from the light lagers that once dominated the market, and they want beers to fit specific foods and occasions.”
To quench the soaring thirst for specialty labels, some craft brewers are pushing the envelope, inventing beers that transcend unique and border on curious. Mobius Brewing in Greenville, South Carolina, has introduced a caffeine-infused lager, calling it “the beer drinker’s alternative to sweet-tasting energy drinks.” Last year, Samuel Adams, the Boston company that spearheaded the microbrew renaissance in the early ’90s and is now the nation’s largest seller of craft beers, unveiled a daring new batch of its uber-potent Utopias brand, which weighs in at 27 percent alcohol by volume and is promoted as “Extreme Beer” that “boldly goes where no craft beer has gone before.”
So hot are microbrews that the beer industry’s mass-market giants are feverishly trying to compete. While purists dismiss the specialty products of major brewers as “faux crafts,” it’s hard to resist such offerings as Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale (Anheuser-Busch) and Sunset Wheat (Miller-owned Leinenkugel Brewing). With the big guys throwing their hops into the specialty ring and microbreweries multiplying seemingly by the minute—the average American lives within 10 miles of one—it’s easy to find venues that serve up a wide range of these handcrafted creations.
The Southeast alone is prime quaffing turf. Starting in North Carolina, a heady pause that refreshes is found at Asheville’s Jack of the Wood, an atmospheric Celtic-style pub that purveys its very own English-style Green Man Ales (seven in all). Down a pint or two at the wraparound, black-walnut bar while listening to top bluegrass bands fiddle the night away. In Greensboro, the beer-savvy belly up at Natty Greene’s Pub & Brewing Company, a century-old red-brick building on a downtown street corner that features five homemade core labels, from the deep-golden Natty’s Pale Ale to Old Town Brown Ale (with a hint of chocolate), and 18 seasonal brews, including Wildflower Witbier and St. Nathanael’s Double Abbey.
For incredible diversity, the place to go in South Carolina is Aiken Brewing Company, a handsome, three-story brewpub in the rolling, horsey hamlet of Aiken. Makers of some 50 beers, this highly experimental establishment—where new recipes are hatched every week—keeps eight local favorites on tap, including the deep-amber, caramel-laced Thoroughbred Red and the sweet Steeplechase Oatmeal Stout with its dense brown head. Still thirsty? In Greenville you can raise a few at the rustic and comfy Blue Ridge Brewing Company. Chill with such winners as the robust Total Eclipse Stout and the bracing, copper-colored Colonel Paris Pale Ale. Eight seasonals, including Santa’s Little Helper, complete the top-notch selection. The beer sampler (eight 5-ounce glasses) allows you to say “Been there, done that.”
Alabama also scores big among beer aficionados, many of whom frequent Montgomery Brewing Company and Olde Auburn Ale House. The former is located in a historic converted warehouse in Montgomery’s bustling business district; the building’s rough-hewn character lends all the more flavor to the five beers brewed on the premises. Montgomery Blonde is a hugely popular light beer. Or try the dark, rich Wipe Out Stout, with a complex aftertaste of malt and coffee. At Olde Auburn Ale House, Auburn’s premier brewpub (housed in the city’s original newspaper building), you can wash down the yummy bar fare with your choice of seven homemade beers—including Rowdy Raspberry (lo-cal, smooth and fruity) and Fools Wit (a Belgian white tinged with coriander and Curacao orange)—plus two seasonals.
If you travel through Georgia, take a big sip of the reputed Red Brick labels at Atlanta Brewing Company, where a sleek new tasting room with state-of-the-art pouring system features live music twice a week. The most venerable operational craft brewer in the Peach State, this 15-year-old gem makes five beers, one of which—the crisp Red Brick Blonde—earned a gold medal at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival. A great hot-weather quencher, Blonde is contrasted by Red Brick Winter Brew, a very chocolatey oatmeal porter with specially roasted malts, decadent enough to double as a dessert aperitif. Down the road in Savannah, known as “America’s Most Haunted City,” it’s only fitting that Moon River Brewing Company is famed for its resident ghosts, not to mention six spirited beers brewed upstairs. Cure your goose bumps with Savannah Fest, a spicy, German-style festival brew with a rich orange hue; or, for a real eye-opener, order the harvest seasonal Tater Ale, which blends sweet potatoes and floral and herbal English hops. Optional: glass rim coated with spiced ground and roasted pumpkin seeds.
In Florida, stars on the brew map include A1A Ale Works in St. Augustine and, down the Atlantic coast in Boca Raton, Brewzzi. Ideally located in the center of America’s oldest city, with windows overlooking the sparkling bay, A1A pours its five exceptional beers at a long, curving, oh-so-Florida bar cooled by ceiling fans. For a walk on the mild side, check out the King Street Light Lager, a traditional American lager and the lightest beer in the house. If it’s bold and aggressive you want, treat your buds to A. Strange Stout, a classic, opaque-black English stout with roasted and caramel flavors derived from U.K. malt.
In Boca Raton, the trendy Italian-American bistro and micro-brewery Brewzzi showcases six of its own beers, two of which merit postcards home. The fruity and zesty Tropical Madness might be the ultimate Florida refresher; one gulp and you’re thinking palm trees and a hammock. For something more sophisticated, Brewzzi’s rich, amber-brown Munich Dark, named Black Duke, is tops. The subtle suggestion of chocolate and roasted coffee provides a seriously delicious close to a great meal.
Micro-Data
ALABAMA
Montgomery
Montgomery Brewing Company
334-834-2739
Auburn
Olde Auburn Ale House
334-821-6773
FLORIDA
St. Augustine
A1A Ale Works
904-829-2977
Boca Raton
Brewzzi
561-392-2739
GEORGIA
Atlanta
Atlanta Brewing Company
404-355-5558
Savannah
Moon River Brewing Company
912-447-0943
NORTH CAROLINA
Asheville
Jack of the Wood
828-252-5445
Greensboro
Natty Greene’s Pub & Brewing Co.
336-274-1373
SOUTH CAROLINA
Aiken
Aiken Brewing Company
803-502-0707
Greenville
Blue Ridge Brewing Company
864-232-4677
Best Fests
The Southeast is awash in beer festivals, and here are a few of the finest. Be sure to contact the event organizer; dates are subject to change and some festivals have already taken place this year or hadn’t yet been scheduled as this story was going to press.—J.E.
World Beer Festival
Raleigh, NC / April 26
Durham, NC / October 4
East Atlanta Beer Festival
Atlanta, GA / May 10
Magic City Brewfest
Huntsville, AL / June 6–8
Dauphin Street International
Beer Festival
Mobile, AL / August 23
Brewery Bash at Thomas Creek
Greenville, SC / November 1
Jupiter Craft Brewers Festival
Jupiter, FL / January 25, 2009
The Great Smokies Craft Brewers Brewgrass Festival / Asheville, NC
Orlando Beer Festival
Orlando, FL
Classic City Brew-Fest
Athens, GA
Check it out:
www.brewpubzone.com, an extensive guide to brewpubs, microbreweries, craft beers, events and more.
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