A Tale of Two Breweries

If you look for it, there's always something "else" to do other than the routine.  It's just a matter of figuring out what "it" is and then maintaining the determination to get "it" done.  In Atlanta, traffic is the intractable foil which lays waste to many a good intention, but in this case I persevered.

There are three independently owned commercial breweries in Georgia, two of which are located in Atlanta, and one that doesn't count because it is in Athens (home of Ugh-A).  Breweries in Georgia are allowed to have tours, but no more than 32 oz. of beer can be served in the process, with no retail sales.   Both breweries are located in otherwise nondescript commercial parks, and their tours begin after normal business hours are over.

Sweetwater Brewery is winning the battle for the State,  as more and more restaurants seem to have their beers on tap and they're well stocked in major groceries. They are a regional brewery, with production of around 80,000 barrels (equivalent to 160,000 kegs) per year.  They have a wide selection of beers, and they cater their "tours" as an after-work hang out, although they are only open for two hours.  For $7, you get a souvenir glass and 6 tickets to sample whatever may be on draft. 

On this particular visit, they had among others:

Sweetwater 420 (English style pale ale - best seller)

Blue (golden ale with blueberry flavor)

Georgia Brown (slightly dry brown ale)

IPA (flavorful pale ale, hops flavor)

Road Trip (a light summer pilsner if I recall)

Sweetwater Brewery branding carries with it an unlikely visual icon of a fish (I can't help but think of a beer made from aquarium water), but no tour would be complete without a souvenir counter.   The brewery appears to be run rather "loosely" as observed by two employees driving off after their shift with open glasses of beer. 

For those less acclimated with the environment, 32 oz. isn't a lot of beer, but it's not a small quantity either.  Surprisingly, they make no provisions for any kind of food or snacks, even at extra cost.  We saw someone bring a pizza with them, which was duly noted as a good idea.  In any case, within 30 minutes of opening, the place was packed with the after-work crowd, a band was playing on a patio, and a good time was being had by all.

The "tour" involved a walk of about 50' which pretty much let you see everything  there was to be seen.   The tour guide, seen moments before operating the taps, knew the process, but didn't elaborate very much.  But that's okay, because no one was really there to learn.  Pipes and tanks don't necessarily invite many questions, either.  Amongst all the stainless steel, only the "Dank Tank" had any visual character.  This tank is designed for any wild ideas that they might try to brew.

While Sweetwater is the best selling Georgia brew, Atlanta Brewing Company (ABC) is the oldest with a history that stretches all the way back to... 1993.  (Compare this to Yuengling which is America's oldest brewery founded in 1829.)  They sell approx. 12,000 barrels per year, but sales have almost doubled in each of the last two years with new ownership and sales staff.

ABC is the home of "Red Brick" branded beers, which I lucked into finding last year with their Blonde ale.  Again, the tour includes a souvenir glass and 4 bottle caps which are exchanged for a serving from whichever beers are on tap.  These were:

Blonde - light golden ale

Peachtree Pale Ale - medium bodied, complicated.

Red Brick Ale - full bodied brown ale - best seller

Numbers - a musty golden ale

Mudbones - golden ale with medium bitterness

Octoberfest - toasted malt flavor, with hops

Porter - darker beer from chocolate malt and roasted barley - well liked by a couple of friends

The "tour" involved a walk of about 20' to a spot where basically everything could be seen.  The guide gave a very detailed description of the process and obviously had a lot of pride in their product.

 

Like Sweetwater, they are open two hours for the tour, offer (surprisingly dull) souvenirs, and an area for everyone to gather.  They also book musicians and other events, such as a cheese pairing on the evening we went.  We didn't need that, though, because experience taught us to bring pizzas! 

Both visits were a lot of fun, and they were definitely a value for the money.  I think most in my group favored Sweetwater in most categories, but ABC was certainly solid.