The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta pale ale wins national blind taste test
The country’s best pale ale can be found in an Atlanta brewery, according to Paste Magazine.
Monday Night Brewing’s Han Brolo Pale Ale topped the publication’s ranking of 151 pale ales.
“In more than three years of doing this, I don’t believe we’ve ever had a #1 beer in a blind tasting style that came from Paste’s native Atlanta, but the drought is finally over,” the magazine said. “Monday Night Brewing ... is an ascendant brewery in the Southeast, and it’s time to recognize it.”
The list was published Monday, but the winner wasn’t a surprise to beer writer Bob Townsend, who’d gotten an inside view of how the blind-tasting series works. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributor reviewed the “contemporary hazy-juicy pale ale” favorably back in September, calling it “a beer for our times.”
Atlanta’s Red Brick Brewing Co.’s Soul of the City was ranked at No. 12.
In other Monday Night Brewing news, a release event for another beer — Don’t Call it Hotlanta — will be held Sunday. A very Atlanta description of the beer can be found on the Facebook event page:
“Take your senses on a trip ITP when you sip on this quadruple-dry-hopped IPA. With the unpredictability of Atlanta’s spring weather, this cloudy double IPA pops with sunny tropical notes on the nose. It drinks dank and finishes with a bit of bitterness, much like an Atlanta sports fan. Don’t Call It Hotlanta checks in at a bridge-collapsing 8.5% ABV, so enjoy it after your hour-long evening commute.”