I’m on the road to the 2015 Beer Bloggers and Writers Conference. USA and European conference meetings are held annually. Asheville, North Carolina will host the USA conference July 17-19. Attendees will receive local, regional, and national presentations related to all things craft beer as well as sample numerous brews.

 

Although the 2015 Beer Bloggers and Writers Conference isn’t until mid-July, I departed early from California to visit family in the Southeast. In addition, I’m conducting a small sampling of unique beer stops in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina on my meandering way to Asheville.

My first stay was in Atlanta, GA. The greater Atlanta region is starting to emerge as a Southeastern hub for brewing. This emergence is happening in spite of the state of Georgia having some of the most restrictive and oppressive state brewery laws. Sweetwater Brewing Company is easily the largest brewery in Georgia. I wrote about visiting this brewery here. For this stop of my road trip, I focused on a multi-location brewpub and two emerging smaller breweries. 5 Seasons Brewing Company, Three Taverns Craft Brewing, and Wild Heaven Craft Beer Company are creating lots of local buzz.

5 Seasons Brewing

With three locations in the Atlanta area, 5 Seasons Brewing is passionate about offering an array of excellent food menu selections that feature local farm to table fresh ingredients.

In addition, Brewmasters Crawford Moran and Kevin McNerney produce nearly 70,000 gallons of beer annually to accompany these delicious food offerings. Crawford Moran is formerly of Dogwood Brewing and oversees both the 5 Seasons North and Westside locations. Kevin McNerney helped to build SweetWater Brewing Company. Kevin also worked for both Avery and Mammoth Brewing Companies.

You’ll find a wide array of beer styles on tap at any of the 5 Seasons Brewing locations. One of my favorite beers on tap was the Stuart Rankin Scottish Ale. This brew had a lovely malt caramel flavor with a nice hint of smoked peat. If visiting the Westside location, be certain to explore their wide array of barrel aged beers offered in 750 ml bottles.

Three Taverns Craft Brewing

I visited Three Taverns Brewing on July 1st during their Georgia Craft Beer Independence Day Celebration.

July 1st was the first day of implementation of the GA Beer Jobs Bill (S.B. 63). Thanks to the passage of this bill, for the first time Georgia beer consumers can buy a pint at a brewery and take beer home from breweries and brewpubs. Although small, these changes are expected to help drive jobs, tourism, and economic growth and allow Georgia to be more competitive in the national craft beer marketplace.

Inspired by a European road trip that landed him in Belgium, Brian Purcell founded Three Taverns Brewing and hired Joran Van Ginderachter to create primarily Belgian-style brews. According to the Three Taverns website, “There are only three Belgian brewers working in the U.S., and two of them are related. Joran Van Ginderachter follows in the footsteps of his uncle Peter Bouckaert, who today works at New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado and who helped introduce his young nephew to brewing.”

The brewery and tasting room (called The Parlour) are rustic, comfortable, and stunning. The tasting room area has numerous tables for standing while tasting samples. An upstairs lounge provides ample seating for relaxing and social interaction.

 

The tasting room had a wide array of beers on tap for the evening.

My first beer sample of the evening was Le Peche Mode Saison. Le Peche Mode is a classic saison style beer fermented with natural Georgia peach juice from Lane Orchards. This delicious brew delivered excellent malt flavor with a peach accent and a dry finish, and was the perfect beer to start an evening celebrating Georgia (the Peach State) Beer Independence Day.

One of Three Taverns best sellers is A Night In Brussels Belgian-style American IPA. In Three Taverns own words, “A Night in Brussels is a Belgian-style American IPA with malts from Belgium, a blend of American hops, pure cane sugar in the best southern tradition, and an authentic Belgian yeast strain. A pleasing marriage of old- and new-world beer cultures, this unique ale is best understood as an American IPA on a Belgian road trip.”

My favorite beer of the evening was Departed Spirit, a barrel aged Belgian-style imperial Stout. This stout packs a whopping 10% ABV with excellent stout coffee and dark chocolate flavors complemented with traces of bourbon, vanilla, and the rich character of wood.

Wild Heaven Craft Beer Company

My last stop in the Atlanta area was Wild Heaven Craft Beer Company. Founded by Georgia natives Nick Purdy and Eric Johnson, Wild Heaven Craft Beer launched in 2010 and has risen rapidly to become one of the area’s premiere breweries.

Wild Heaven Craft Beer Company offers a wide range of beers and beer styles.  Their most popular beer is called Emergency Drinking Beer. This one-of-a-kind session beer marries pilsner and traditional gose styles and adds a twist with additions of citrus zest, Portuguese sea salt and lemongrass.

My favorite beer was the Ode to Mercy Imperial Brown Ale. This beer delivers flavors of deep roasted malts, coffee, and oak and finishes smooth and creamy.

Overall, my road trip to the Beer Bloggers and Writers Conference is off to a great start. My small sampling of breweries shows me that craft brewing in the Atlanta area is vibrant and growing in spite of restrictive Georgia laws. There are many more breweries in the area I hope to visit soon.

My talented wife Patricia took the excellent photographs in this posting. Thanks dear!