EVENT PREVIEW
Red Brick Brewing “20 Beers for 20 Years.” $25 general. $50 VIP, which includes VIP area and special tasting event. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. July 27. 2323 Defoor Hills Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-355-5558, www.redbrickbrewing.com.
CRAFT BREWERIES
Metro Atlanta’s craft breweries are popping up from Marietta to Hampton. Here’s a quick guide to who and where they are, along with their all-important tour schedules. Because of state law, tours and samples are free, but breweries can charge for a souvenir tasting glass.
Breweries and tours
Burnt Hickory Brewery
Story: President/brewmaster Scott Hedeen is making beer the old-fashioned way — with water, malt, hops and yeast. But Hedeen is creating high-gravity ales on such a small scale, with so much punk attitude, that it's sometimes difficult to separate the method from the madness.
Beers: Ezekiel's Wheel Pale Ale, Fighting Bishop Belgian Triple, Cannon Dragger IPA and Big Shanty Graham Cracker Stout
Info: 2260 Moon Station Court, No. 210, Kennesaw. 770-514-8812, burnthickorybrewery.com.
Tours: Noon-5 p.m. one Saturday a month (usually the second Saturday); tastings are 5-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays. $10 for glass.
Cherry Street Brewing Cooperative
Story: This small brewpub opened in December in Vickery Village of Cumming in partnership with Rick Tanner's Grille & Bar. Head brewer and founder Nick Tanner works with Dan Reingold and Jonny Bradley to craft a wide variety of styles, with 10-12 beers on draft daily.
Beers: Ta Ta Cream Ale, Irish Red I Jedeye, Monkey Hammer Hefeweizen
Info: 5810 Bond St. E-2, Cumming. 770-205-5512, cherrystreetbrewing.com.
Tours: 2-4 p.m. open house on Saturdays. $10 for glass.
Jailhouse Brewing
Story: Homebrewer Glenn Golden renovated the old Hampton Jail to build a small brewery, got a license on Oct. 23, 2009, and the first batch of beer was in the fermenter by midnight of that same day. Since then, Golden has branched out to brew a variety of styles with jailhouse-inspired names.
Beers: Slammer Wheat, Misdemeanor Ale, Mugshot IPA, Breakout Stout, seasonals
Info: 8 Cherry St., Hampton. 678-734-3202, jailhousebrewing.com.
Tours: 2-6 p.m. Saturdays. $8 for glass.
Monday Night Brewing
Story: The new Westside Atlanta brewery opened in January. Partners Jonathan Baker, Jeff Heck and Joel Iverson met in a weekly Monday night Bible study and decided to open a craft brewery together while concocting homebrew recipes in Heck's garage. Their slogan: "Weekends Are Overrated."
Beers: Fu Manbrew Belgian-style Wit, Eye Patch Ale, Drafty Kilt Scotch Ale, plus barrel-aged beers
Info: 670 Trabert Ave. N.W., Atlanta. 404-352-7703, mondaynightbrewing.com.
Tours: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, 2-4 p.m. Saturdays. $10 for glass.
Red Hare Brewing
Story: Roger Davis "semiretired from the corporate world" in 2009 and founded Red Hare with his homebrew buddy, Bobby Thomas. With its Long Day Lager, the company became the first Georgia craft brewery to offer canned beer, and now brews its seasonal Rabbit's Reserve series.
Beers: Gangway IPA, Long Day Lager, Watership Brown Ale, Rabbit's Reserve editions
Info: Red Hare Brewing Co., 1998 Delk Industrial Blvd., Marietta. 678-401-0600, redharebrewing.com.
Tours: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 2-4 p.m. Saturdays. $10 for glass.
Strawn Brewing
Story: Opened in December in Fairburn by brothers Will and Lamar Strawn and fellow homebrewer Doug Evans as what they call "The Working Man's Brewery." That means they mainly make easy-drinking beer styles to enjoy after a hard day's work — because they all still have day jobs.
Beers: American Wheat, Amber Ale, Scottish 80
Info: 27 Word St., Fairburn. 404-268-1551, strawnbrewing.com.
Tours: 2-6 p.m. Saturdays. $8 for glass.
Sweetwater Brewing
Story: Two former college roommates from Boulder, Colo., came to Atlanta drawn by the 1996 Olympics and started brewing the kind of West Coast beers they loved to drink. 420 Pale Ale was a big hit, and Sweetwater has grown to become one of the top craft breweries in the U.S.
Beers: 420 Pale Ale, IPA, Sweet Georgia Brown, Riverkeeper Hefeweizen, Dank Tank and seasonals
Info: 195 Ottley Drive, Atlanta. 404-691-2537, sweetwaterbrew.com.
Tours: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Saturdays, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Sundays. $10 for glass.
Atlanta’s Red Brick Brewing, the oldest operating craft brewery in the state of Georgia, celebrates its 20th anniversary on July 27. But rather than looking to the past, sales manager Jason Topping wants to use the occasion to get the word out that Red Brick has been busy building for the future.
“Red Brick’s big transition right now is that youth is taking over the key parts of the brewery,” Topping says. “Both of our brewers, Garret Lockhart and Steve Anderson, are under 35, and our sales staff is young and going after it.
“The last five years have been a big transformation as we switched the name from Atlanta Brewing to Red Brick. We haven’t gotten away from our roots, it’s just that the ownership has given us the helm and said take it in a new direction.”
Red Brick Brewing, originally known as Atlanta Brewing, was founded in 1993. Its first location was a red brick building on Williams Street in Midtown Atlanta. In 2007, the brewery moved to its current Atlanta location on Defoor Hills Road.
Since then, its beer portfolio has expanded to include more seasonal and specialty offerings, such as the current Brick Mason series 20th Anniversary Imperial Stout, aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels.
Dubbed “20 Beers for 20 Years,” the anniversary party will feature at least nine more new creations, including Sacred Cow Chai Milk Stout.
In addition, there will be live music, food trucks, a special ice cream from Frozen Pints made with 20th Anniversary Stout, and a whole hog brined in 20th Anniversary Stout and roasted by Pine Street Market.
“Our anniversary is a showcase for our brewers and how far we’ve come,” Topping says, “and we’re trying to showcase our new vision, which is more community-driven in partnering with businesses like Frozen Pints and Pine Street.”
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