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I got Craft Beer Week started early at Cypress Pint and Plate
with some of Atlanta's top beer pimps. |
Man, Atlanta was hopping this past week!
Where were you?
It was a big deal last week. I mean, come on, a nationwide, week-long celebration dedicated to the art of craft brewing? Gotta love it! From Monday, May 14, through Sunday, May 20, every state had some kind of event showing love to the suds, and in the ATL, they did it big! From pubs hosting crazy events like the Brick Store Pub's Pancake Breakfast coupled with incredible oak-aged imperial stouts, to the East Atlanta Beer Festival, here are some flicks that further prove Georgia's capital loves its ales and lagers.
Enjoy!!!
The Square Pub in Downtown Decatur hosted local night on Wednesday along with new Atlanta import, Anderson Valley Brewing Co. out of Mendocino County, California. Welcome A.V.!
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Leon's Full Service went nuts with their taps and I was happy to show them off to my friends who came in from Cali, Brad and Shelby. My homey and Leon's Co-Owner Mike Gallagher (in the middle) made sure they were taken care of.
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Burgeoning rock star Lee MacDougall out of London, England was on his U.S. tour, and I heard he said all American beers tasted like India Pale Ales. Say what??? We linked up through a mutual friend (Thanks Shanna!) at The Porter, and did a seven-brew flight of various styles from Allagash, Stillwater, and New Belgium. I made him not only drink his words, but become a believer in U.S. brewing mastery. He was an awesome sport and admittedly enjoyed every sip!
Look for this fun, enlightening sampling session on my Cruisin' For A Brewsin' show soon!
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Hanging at the Brick Store with fellow beer nut and Beer Street Journal founder Reid Ramsey during the pub's second annual Pancake Breakfast and Yard Sale. He got there at 7 a.m. and boasted that there were some hard-to-find ales being exchanged while folks patiently waited in line for the doors to open at 8 on Saturday morning. Dang it!
Here's the nutty beer list of gangster stouts that were on deck that Saturday. I missed the Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout but there were evidently some others that weren't too shabby either!
They also had a piano player positioned above the entrance way. It was like a saloon of yesteryear and added a nice touch of class to that morning of memorable imbibing!
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This is the East Atlanta Beer Fest's list of stations where breweries showed their products off. There were also some very cool folks who attended (as usual for beer festivals) and interesting products that caught my eye as well.
Love bocce and brews? Join the Atlanta Bocce League!
How about a Guinness cupcake? Thanks to OMG!!! Cup & Cakes, they were on deck!
And last but not least, I saw this canned brew called Bomb Craft Beer. There is like zero info on the can of this lager, so I was definitely hesitant to try it; the nondisclosure of info and b-boy posing "Bomb" name reminded me of the mysterious 40-ounce bottle labels back in my college years. You knew nada! I turns out this is a "traditional Bavarian Helles" out of the heart of New York City and uses the artwork of a dude aptly titled Billy The Artist, according to their website. Let me know what you think if you happen to come across one.
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Oh yeah! Tomorrow, I am at Cypress Pint and Plate again for a huge party featuring a brewery that is becoming one of my favorites, Clown Shoes out of Ipswich, Massachusetts. Here's the cool flyer:
There's going to be some acrobats flippin', some awesome brew sippin', and some serious vittle
chompin', so try and come through!
Laters!!!!
Ale
