Atlanta brewery crawl

Stan pulls up outside my hotel on the dot of 11 AM, as arranged. And off we go on our Atlanta brewery crawl.

First stop is Three Taverns, a brewery tap room in a former dairy. It's well before opening time, but we've arranged to meet brewer Neal Engleman.

They've an impressive range of beers on tap. 23 in all. And, more importantly, in a wide range of styles. Including many classic European ones.

We kick off with A Night on Ponce IPA. Which is a classic West Coast IPA. The type of beer I've rally started to get a taste for. And this is a pretty good example, packed with citrus and also packing a punch of bitterness. It's a good start.

Neal has been around a few breweries in Atlanta. His gig before this being at Bold Monk. I'm surprised to discover that one of his biggest sellers is a Doppelbock. Not the sort of beer you'd expect the hep young cats to go for. Pastry Stouts, hazy IPAs and fruited sours are more their thing. There are examples of those styles, but plenty of other stuff, too.

We rattle through a Belgian Double, Doppelbock, Czech Dark Lager and an Altbier. All good, solid examples of the styles. The traditional stuff out of the way, we sample a sour with Earl Grey tea and a NE IPA. The latter bursting with fruit and very soft in the mouth. It feels like we've been through 30 years of craft beer evolution in a few glasses.

I can't believe we've already been here two hours. It's time to move on.

Next on the list is Elsewhere Brewing. Again, it's well before opening time, but owners Sam and Sarah and brewer Josh are there to welcome us in. 

We start with a tour of the brewery. It doesn't take long, as it's very compact. A cute little stainless brewing kit, 6 horizontal fermenters and six horizontal bright tanks.

First beer is a Czech/German hybrid Pls served through a side pull tap. These seem to be getting very popular over here. Josh tells us how they've started sourcing their base malt from the US. From a craft maltster that sources their barley from nearby farmers.

Josh is very focused on the right ingredients. Especially yeast. He makes some mixed fermentation beers. The first he lets us try is inspired by Brasserie de la Senne's Taras Boulba. It's light, refreshing and very dry. Next is a Saison, funky from the Brett Bruxellensis and bone dry. Time is the secret ingredient, Josh says. We fish with a bottle of Lady Brett, a Lambic. It's packed with funky complexity. Another example of the wonders of patience in brewing. You can't rush a beer lie this.

Time is slipping away like a greased eel. We move on again. To Halfway Crooks.

It's in an old building close to where some of the Olympic games were held in the 1990s. Stan tells me that the area is gentrifying fast. In addition to the brewery, the same block has an artisan bakery and other middle-class frippery.

We enter through the brewhouse at the rear. It's another very compact affair.

Arriving before opening yet again, we meet brewers Joran Van Ginderachter and Shawn Bainbridge.

Once at the bar, we're presented with another side-pull Pils in a lovely Czech-looking handled mug. We adjourn upstairs, which is open to the air. It does have a covering that closes when it's raining.

There's a lot of Belgian influence. Lots of signs are in Dutch. They even sourced the quaintly old-fashioned wallpaper from there. It's a bit like being in your granny's house.

Would I like some food? It would probably be a good idea. All I had for breakfast was a coffee. I'm given a plate of frites topped with stoofvlees. That's do nicely. Hearty and simple.

We've one last brewery to visit. One quite different to the others.

There's been a lot of talk about diversity - or rather the lack of it - in the craft beer world. It's especially striking in a city like Atlanta, where a large percentage of the population is non-white. Which makes Atlantucky rather special. Because it's the city's first black-owned brewery.

It was set up by Fish Scales and Skinny DeVille, half of the hip hop group Nappy Roots. The contrast with the other breweries we've visited is enormous.

For a start, the premises are enormous. A huge hangar of a place that's more like a club than a bar. Something emphasised by the stage, where a female DJ is banging out tunes.

We head around to the back where they're just transferring today's brew on their tiny kit. It's just a single barrel. They've only recently got up and running and are still feeling their way.

At the bar, we try a couple of their beers. An old-school Pale Ale is first. It has all the citrussy American hops you'd expect in the style and is a pretty easy drinker. A NE IPA is next, with all the fruit you'd expect and perhaps a tad more bitterness than is usual. I save the powerful 8% ABV Imperial Stout until last. It’s full and warming, but could perhaps use a touch more roast.

I'm pleasantly surprised to see that they have a copy of my Home Brewer's Guide to Vintage Beer Obviously, I sign it for them.

That's us done for breweries. Time to head for Decatur and the Brick Store's cask ale bar. I wouldn't want to miss out on that.

We sit at the bar, right in front of the handpulls. And both order a New Realm English Porter. It's in pretty good condition, with a wonderfully soft carbonation. When did I last drink a Cask beer? 2019, I think. That's far too long. Who knows wen I'll drink it again? Visiting the UK really isn't on at the moment.

Drinking done, it's time to drive up to Duluth. Where we've an event on tomorrow. I crash straight to bed. Well, after a little goodnight whisky.



Three Taverns Imaginarium
777 Memorial Dr SE Suite B103,
Atlanta, GA 30316.
https://www.threetavernsbrewery.com/imaginarium


Elsewhere Brewing
1039 Grant St SE Suite B34,
Atlanta, GA 30315.
https://elsewherebrewing.com/


Halfway Crooks Beer
60 Georgia Ave SE,
Atlanta, GA 30312.
https://halfwaycrooks.beer/


Atlantucky Brewing
170 Northside Dr SW suite 96,
Atlanta, GA 30313.
https://atlantucky.com/


Brick Store Pub
125 E Court Square,
Decatur, GA 30030.
https://www.brickstorepub.com/