The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
5 CRAFT BEERS WORTH A TASTE RIGHT NOW
Atlanta craft beer lovers suddenly have many more choices, with breweries such as Arches and Scofflaw opening, and longtime breweries such as Max Lager’s expanding with new concepts. Here are five to try right now.
Bohemian Riot
Arches Brewing, Hapeville Available on draft and in growlers at the brewery and select beer bars and growler shops.
Profile: This take on Bohemianstyle pilsner from Hapeville’s tiny Arches Brewing is a tribute to the people of Pilsen, who once upon a time rioted in the streets to protest the poor quality of the beer being brewed in the city. As the story goes, a city-owned brewery was founded and Czech lagers were born.
Bohemian Riot is pale gold in color, with soft carbonation, and crisp, well-rounded aromas and flavors that balance malty and hoppy notes before a rush of bitterness in the finish. To my palate, it’s not exactly to style. But that may be the point. Either way, it’s a refreshing summer seasonal, available June-September.
Pair with: Bohemian pilsner makes an easy match for a wide variety of foods, from pub grub and backyard barbecue favorites to Mexican and Asian heat and spice. But this time of year, seafood is a natural pairing, including clams, crabs, shrimp, scallops and lobster.
Oren India Pale Ale
Reformation Brewery, Woodstock
Available year-round on draft and in cans.
Profile: Woodstock’s yearround portfolio has featured Belgian-style beers, but experiments with IPAs and other British and American styles have been ongoing. The newest is Oren India Pale Ale. Brewed as part of Reformation’s “Hop Expeditions” program, Oren features Mosaic and Azacca hops and a lighter malt bill. At just 5.5 percent alcohol by volume, it lands on the brighter, lighter, hop-forward side of the IPA style that’s so in demand right now.
Soft and bubbly on the palate, aromas and flavors of orange and grapefruit dominate, along with floral and fruity notes and a hint of papaya, followed by a grapefruit-like bitterness in the dry finish.
Pair with: Reformation recommends pairing Oren with American cheddar, ballpark favorites and hot wings.
Red Hop Rye
Second Self Brewing Co., Atlanta
Widely available on draft and in cans.
Profile: The brainchild of Georgia Tech grads, Second Self debuted in late 2014 on Atlanta’s westside. Most of the small brewery’s beers tend to have a culinary bent, and Red Hop Rye is a good example of how that plays out.
The American hybrid IPA is brewed with a good portion of rye malt, plus caramel and honey malts, giving it a deep red color and spicy presence. Aroma and flavor hops with predominant citrus notes strike a balance and help create a crisp, food-friendly finish.
Pair with: Besides the Burger Wellington, Second Self recommends pairing Red Hop Rye with barbecue, steak, brats, cheddar cheese and spicy foods.
Hooligan
Scofflaw Brewing Co., Atlanta Available at the Scofflaw tasting room and in limited release on draft and in cans.
Profile: Scofflaw brewmaster Travis Herman created Hooligan with a whole bunch of Australian Galaxy hops, augmented by some Mosaic hops, and a light backdrop of pale malt. Unfiltered, but more cloudy than hazy, it pours a pale yellow with a frothy white head.
On the palate, look for lots of late addition hop character, with flavors and aromas of passionfruit, mango, pineapple and citrus (of course), and that touch of funk in the nose that Mosaic is known for. Overall, it’s a complex beer that still manages to be approachable, which is a nice trick, and will likely make you want more than one.
Pair with: Like many IPAs with tropical-fruit notes, Hooligan makes a good match for Southeast Asian food with flavors of lime, tamarind and chile, including Thai, Vietnamese, and Malaysian dishes. But it might be fun to try pairing it with tropical desserts, too, such as a simple mango syllabub or a slice of sweet-tart key lime pie.
Prichard’s Excommunication
Max Lager’s, Atlanta Available on draft and cask at Max Lager’s
Profile: Max Lager’s Excommunication Flanders-style red ale won a bronze medal in the American fruited sour category at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival in Denver. The newest iteration of Excommunication was aged in a Prichard’s rum barrel for 8 months, and recently won a silver medal at the U.S. Open Beer Championship.
Excommunication is part of an ongoing barrel project that employs mixed fermentation and is macerated with Balaton cherries and dried mission figs. All together, the process produces a tart, complex Flanders-style red ale — and the rum barrel-aging adds even more complex notes of vanilla, oak and spice.
Pair with: Sometimes touted as the “Burgundy of Belgium,” Flanders red ale has many of the bright, fruity characteristics of wine. And that goes for the original Excommunication, which makes a great match for Belgian-style mussels and frites. But I might try the rum-barrel version with desserts, such as cherry cheesecake or fresh fig tart.