Top 25 American Craft Brewers

Everyone loves a good list.  Top 10 that, Top 5 this.  We like to rank things.  It's kind of fun.  Blame Casey Kasem. 
 
Therefore, without further ado, we present our Top 25 American Craft Breweries for 2013.  First...the rules. 

#1.  There are no rules.  Nooo, kidding.   

But there are really only two.  First, the brewery's main operation must be located in the USA.  So no classic Belgians here.  Second, the brewery must have at least 3 year round offerings and is able to be found in stores and/or locals bars in the area they are located within.  So basically, they're distributed in some shape or form. 
 
Now, a disclaimer.  These are merely our opinions set forth on paper.  We do not claim to have tried every single beer in the country so this list may seen incomplete to some of you.  Totally cool.  We've never had Pliny the Elder or any other Russian River brew.  We've never done a west coast beer tour to sample all of the inevitably great smaller breweries in California, Washington, and Oregon.  Nor have we done so in Colorado or Maine.  There's a ton of great beer out there.  We have plenty of it left to try.  This is what we know and nothing more.  Deal with it.
 
The ranking criteria was nothing overly specific, just our general thoughts and experiences of each brewer with attention paid to overall quality of beer, quantity of great selections produced, and balance between well-made year round brews, seasonals, and specialties/one-offs.  With that all said, just as explained above, we're not going to lie and say we are familiar with every beer produced by each brewer.  Again, going on the ol' past experiences here. 
 
Ok, enough jibber jabber.  On to the list!
 
 
25.  Victory Brewing Co.  -  These Pennsylvania brewers crack the list due to their excellent selection of year round beers.  Highlights include the wonderfully hopped HopDevil, the Czech inspired Prima Pils, and the excellent Storm King imperial stout.  Our personal favorite though?  The best American made Belgian tripel that you can find at both ballparks and good gas stations...Golden Monkey.
 
24.  Sam Adams -  Near macro status aside, Sam Adams makes some solid brews.  Year round standouts include the flagship Boston Lager and Cream Stout.  Seasonals are highlighted by the Summer Ale (sorry, I like it!), and their list of good speciality and small batch beers is lengthy.  Try the Thirteenth Hour Stout in the cool bottle! 
 
23.  Highland Brewing Co. -  Hopefully I remember this story correctly from my brewery visit in Asheville, forgive me if not, but Highland's history goes back to Oscar Wong, an Asian born in Jamaica who had a dream to open a Scottish style brewery.  World truly collided and great beer was the result.  The Gaelic, Black Mocha Stout, and Kasmir IPA top the year round list followed by the excellent Cold Mountain winter seasonal.
 
22.  Oskar Blues -  All year rounds all the time here.  Dale's is probably America's best nationally distributed pale ale and Gubna, Ten Fidy, Old Chub, and G'Night imperial red are all on-point.  They can also claim fame to being the craft beer can pioneers.  At least on a nationwide scale.
 
21.  Pisgah Brewing -  I just mentioned Dale's Pale Ale as the best of its style that can be found all over.  Well, Pisgah's pale ale is the best we've ever had.  Period.  Problem is that most outside of western North Carolina rarely ever see it.  Located in outside of Asheville in Black Mountain, Pisgah is a small all-organic brewery that churns out nothing but goodness.  The Valdez imperial stout, Vortex IPA, and Solstice Tripel are all amazing.  But our personal favorite?  Red Devil, an incredible Belgian golden ale packed with sour cherries and raspberries.  Also, the brewery always has at least 12 beer selections to choose from (including guests) and is a wonderful place to see a live bluegrass show.

Keep checking back as we unveil the rest of the Top 25!

The Quest for Hopslam

With the recent hullabaloo over tracking down Founder's KBS, I thought I'd share my recent experience with trying to track what's become probably the second most coveted beer in the ATL-market.

 
Bell's Hopslam.  Those two little words can set beer geeks off in a flurry of emotion.  Along with Founders' Kentucky Breakfast Stout, this is probably the most sought after beer distributed to Georgia from out of the state.  This 6-hopped 10% imperial IPA laced with honey from the Michigan brewers usually sees an incredibly limited GA release in early February.  And frankly, it has taken on a near legendary status of elusiveness.  Most fine beer stores get a very limited quantity, the lucky ones might get 4 or 5 cases.  These stores tend to limit sell to a single 6-pack per consumer in order to attempt to spread the wealth to the masses.  If a store gets 3 cases for example, that means that only 12 lucky consumers can purchase Hopslam from that store.  Simply put, there's not nearly enough supply to meet demand.
 
But why such the demand?  I can only say that I've had Hopslam twice ever.  My Hopslam cherry was popped two winters ago at Twain's in Decatur where I was surprised to see that green label staring out at me from the behind bar beer cooler.  Is it good?  Absolutely.  It's a very complex IPA with wonderful notes of grapefruit and pine along with noticeable floral and honey hints.  The high alchohol content is hidden well.  Simply put, it's a damn fine big IPA. 
 
I'm personally not one though to drop what I'm doing and go out of my way to head out and buy a beer.  There are tons of great IPAs out there that don't cause you to skip out on work, speed down some interstate, and wait in line just to hope to snag a sixer.  That's just not my thing.
 
And unfortunately, that's the exact scenario that this beer causes.  Most stores have no idea when their shipment of Hopslam will arrive, just a rough timeframe.  So when it does show up on their doorsteps, simple Twitter and Facebook messages are usually the source to bring news to the masses of Hopslam's onsale availability. And needless to say, with the frenzy this beer stirs up, it lasts mere hours. 
 
Now with that all said, I did make an attempt to pick up Hopslam this year.  I sometimes play in a bowling league on Wednesday evenings off of Buford Highway near the intersection of Claremont.  What's also near this intersection is Green's Liquor Store, well known for having a great beer selection.  I was wrapping up work this Wednesday when I noticed that Green's had sent out word of their shipment arriving and to get down to the store.  So per usual, I headed home, changed, picked up a friend, and headed directly to Green's before bowling.  I didn't rush or go out of my way, but I thought I had caught the perfect combination of timing, proxmity, and desire. 
 
I got to Green's about 2 1/2 hours after I first saw the Twitter message  I thought I was good.  ........nope!
 
I walked in to find that all 6 cases had soldout in just 90 minutes.  Really?!?  An hour and a half and 24 six packs were gone.  Ugghhh...  This, however, is typical with Hopslam and my tale is nowhere near exclusive to myself.  Many try, few achieve.
 
But alas, as I mentioned above, this was a convenient stop for me so I wasn't too bummed out.  I went to bowling and carried on with my evening as normal.  No harm, no foul.
 
But, my friends, my story does not end here.  A little over a week later, destiny struck.  Illegal destiny.
 
I had tentative plans to take a date to see the bluegrass band The Punch Brothers at Variety Playhouse.  However, I dilly-dallied on tickets and the show ended up selling out.  In lieu of paying $70 for Stubhub tickets, I found alternate plans for us that evening at an Atlanta bar showcasing live music.  We walked in and grabbed a seat at the bar.  And just like the event that occurred some two years prior at Twain's, I glanced at the cooler and saw that sweet green label staring back at me.  There it was!  Hopslam!  Where I least expected it.  In my best schoolgirl-skimming-a-Tiger Beat-issue impression, I giddily ordered a bottle.  It stood up.  My thoughts had not changed.  A damn fine imperial IPA.
 
I threw down two bottles, we checked out the tunes for a while, paid our tab, and started to head out to our next destination. But then, like a siren's call, a voice from behind me called my name.  The bartender called me over and said, "Hey, wanna do something illegal?  You seemed so excited to have this beer, want to buy a 6-pack to go?". 
 
Ummm...yes.  Yes, I do.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  Not only was this bartender cool enough to do this based on their observation of my excitement, but they also sold it to me AT COST!  Yep, just $18 for the pack.  I was dumbfounded.  I happily handed the bartender $25 and left with Hopslam under my arm.  This was one of the best and genuinely nicest gestures ever bestowed upon me by a service professional.  An already pleasant surprise became an ever more pleasant, bigger surprise.  Fate, luck, and lawlessness intersected and I got my Hopslam after all. 
 
Turns out, the greatest part of this entire story is that the most memorable aspect of it wasn't the Hopslam beer at all.  It was the kindness of another.
 
You will always have a place in my heart, dear bartender.

Our New Walking Tour - The Little 5 Fling!

Atlanta Beer Tours hosts the Little 5 Fling, our new walking tour. Little 5 Points is one of the city's most unique neighborhoods, and not just because of the colorful characters and creative shops. It's also home to some great beer. We'll have an American Craft Beer tasting at Corner Taver, a Belgian Beer tasting at The Porter and some flights and bites at Wrecking Bar.

Here are the upcoming dates and ticketing pages of The Little 5 Fling:

April 27th

June 22nd

August 24th

We Love Burnt Hickory!

Little Five Fling, Anyone?

$10 off - Little Five Fling - 2/23

Recently, Dan and I undertook our most ambitious custom tour yet for a private birthday party.  Based on their requests, we led 15 people on a fun, beer-filled journey highlighted by a visit to Little 5 Points.  After starting at 5 Seasons Westside, we hit The Porter, where owner Molly Gunn personally walked our group through a tasting of Belgian beers in their private beer cellar. Tasting sheets were created and placed at each seat and the beer began to flow as the group wandered about the cellar checking out the hundreds of rare, aged bottles that lined the walls. Next we walked to The Wrecking Bar, voted Best Brewpub in Atlanta by Creative Loafing two years running, for a beer paired dinner created exclusively for ABT. Our private table was waiting with individual menus made just for the occassion. Four wonderful courses were prepared just for us, each matched with an excellent brew and a brewery tour capped off the night.

 

Based on the great experience we had in L5P on this private tour, we are now launching a brand new tour route, the Little Five Fling!

 

Join us on Atlanta's first and only walking beer tour!  We'll hit 3 great beer spots in the neighborhood, each with a different tasting theme.  We'll first partake in an American craft beer tasting before moving on to The Porter for world class Belgian beers in the cellar.  Finally, we'll visit The Wrecking Bar for a tour, beer flight and some tasty appetizers as well.  Along the way, you'll learn a ton about beer history, beer making, and fascinating stories and facts about the ecclectic Little 5 Points neighborhood. 

 

As always, everything is included in your ticket price.  14-16 beer tastings, food, educational commentary, tours, a souvenir gift, and of course...laughs and memories.  And without the need to board a bus in between each stop, the beer will keep flowing all afternoon.

 

We are extremely excited for this new tour and we hope to see you on February 23rd for our first Little Five Fling! Tickets available here and here.