I recently attended a conference that took me to a town that I knew; but I’ll admit that I knew nothing about their beer scene. Checking in advance, I found two breweries (almost next door to each other) and so I knew I had to go do some field research. Augusta, Georgia is known for two things: the Masters and … okay, it’s known for one main thing. Yes, the world descends on Augusta for a week each year to witness “a tradition unlike any other.” I’ve been several times before and will tell you that it is complete magic. However, I will tell you that these brewery visits made me realize that there is plenty to enjoy in Augusta during the other 51 weeks of the year.

Firs on the list was Savannah River Brewing, named after the river that forms Georgia’s eastern border right outside Augusta. The tasting room was large and inviting, although relatively quiet on a midweek afternoon. I saddled up and ordered a flight (plus another extra taste) consisting of No Jacket Required Pilsner, Phinizy Swamp Thing Berliner Weisse, Dynamite Brown, You Know Nothing John Stout (Nitro), and the extra taste of Westobou Amber. The pilsner was good, not great. Phinizy was slightly more tart than I would like, but delicious. Dynamite Brown was very good, but not anything that made me wanna do any break-dancing. John Stour on Nitro was tremendous: the flavors were deep and rich, but the nitro mellowed everything out, making it a really nice experience. But then the amber … oh, the amber. Westobou was the original name of the Savannah River, and this beer pays homage to its roots. The amber is a beautiful combination of maltiness and bitterness that you might expect in this style. And yes – I bought a 6-pack to take home.

I dragged myself away from SRB to drive the 2.5 minutes to Riverwatch. Whereas SRB had a beautiful space to enjoy a beer indoors; Riverwatch had almost nothing inside, but a fantastic deck for outdoor enjoyment. I ordered a flight (plus one additional taste, because that’s what I do). Now, when I order a flight, I try to list the beers in an order that makes the most sense. The bartender dude told me I had it all wrong, and re-arranged the order. And he was on point. My beers were the Route 104 Pale, 3 Under Par Tripel, Wild Irish Rose BA Sour Red, Godfather of Stout, and the Lazy Paddler IPA. I’m going to sum up this visit somewhat more succinctly … I don’t care about any of the other four beers I had … the tripel is the best I’ve ever had. And I’ve had lots. Yes, the other 4 were good (especially the IPA), but that tripel … Sweet Moses, that tripel. It was rich, smooth, heavy – a spectacular flavor profile and a warmth from the richness of the ingredients. It was truly a remarkable experience. Well done, Riverwatch. Well done.

The point of today’s post is … don’t concern yourself with the quantity of breweries in a general area. As long as the quality is there, you’re golden! And yeah, go hit these two in Augusta – you won’t be sorry.

Quoting Russ on this one … everyone sing along: “It’s the most wonderful time … for a beer!”

Holiday season – winter – cold weather. They all bring some of my favorite times of the year. I love cold weather – College football bowl season (40 games in 24 days!) – and of course, the perfect time to drink dark, heavy beers. Yes, I’ll drink porters and stouts all year, unlike some other people. But everyone should agree that now is the time to enjoy the dark and heavy stuff. So, bring out your BA quads, Russian Imperial Stouts, and all of the heavy stuff. ‘Tis the season!

Today, we focus on one style of beer that really only appears in the colder months. The Winter Warmer. Some call it a Christmas beer, but the style is really a winter warmer. These beers fit my profile perfectly … super malty, very little hop bitterness, and some even drop in some holiday-esque spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger. The consistent theme throughout beers in this style is that they’re not all that consistent. There is a great deal of variety across this spectrum, and the exploration is what makes it great! It just screams sitting next to the tree with the fireplace glowing. Yeah, watching Elf, Scrooged, or Christmas Vacation at the same time would help, too.

I thought I’d share with you a list of the best Christmas/ holiday/ winter warmer beers I’ve ever had. Yes, there are tons of options out there that may be better … but these are the best ones I’ve personally tried. What are your favorites?

In no particular order:
Samichlaus Helles – only brewed one day per year and then aged for 10 months. This one was a great find a few years back. I need to find it again!

Trader Joe’s Vintage (2018 is really good)

Sweetwater Festive – be careful. This one packs a surprising wallop and can sneak up on you.

Anchor Christmas – it’s my annual quest to find this one. Slightly different recipe each year, and I can’t wait to find it and try it.

Deschutes Jubelale – maybe the gold standard for the American winter warmer

Full Sail Wassail – here we go a-wassailing!

Cinnamon Cocoa Drafty Kilt – this maybe doesn’t fit the style exactly, but a Scotch ale with cinnamon and cocoa seems to fit this list really nicely.

St Bernardus Christmas Ale – potentially the best I’ve ever had. So fantastically terrific. It’s their Abt 12 (quadrupel) with winter spices added – weighs in at 10%.

Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale. Just had this for the first time this week. Exceptional!

Breckenridge Holidale (Whiskey Barrel Aged) – this was a 2017 beer. I haven’t seen it since. I hope it comes back?

Great Lakes Christmas Ale – honey gives this one a little extra sweetness.

21st Amendment Fireside Chat – very nicely balanced.

Southern Tier 2XMAS – I need to find this again. This was an awesome one.

And that’s a wrap. (See what I did there?) Tell us – what are your favorites? And which of the above have you had?

Do you like or dislike a brewery based on what someone else says? How much of your opinion of a brewery or beer is based on reputation versus actual experience?

This question arose from a recent discussion I saw where a few people were actually angry that others liked a certain brewery. “How dare you like the brewery that I hate? You must be new to this craft beer scene.” This is a slightly different discussion than our recent post on beershaming, but it’s at least in a similar category. It should be okay for people to have differing opinions on a brewery, but I feel that those opinions should be based on more than just one data point.

This is a bit more than just thinking “beer good = brewery good”, and vice-versa. Among others, here are some of the factors that should be considered when forming an all-encompassing opinion on the quality of a brewery.

– The beer. Yes, the beer is central to this discussion and always will be. But there’s more to it than just the beer found on the shelf in the grocery store…
– Even more beer.  A brewery may have 3, 4, 10 standard year-round beers available, with many of those available in stores. But don’t forget the special seasonal-beers and one-off releases. Many people will tell you that these special beers show the true creativity and artistry from resident brewmasters.
– And even more beer. Brewery-only beers. I think this could be the #1 way to determine the quality of brewery. Straight from the tap … SO MANY CHOICES. As an example, Gate City Brewery near me has about 3-4 beers that are canned and distributed. And they have 18 beers on tap at the brewery. I like the beers that they package. I love going into the brewery to see what new creations they have for me.
– The vibe. We’ve talked about this a lot in the past. I won’t re-hash the discussion.
– Customer service. Can you talk to the staff? If there are issues, how were they resolved? Some breweries pride themselves on this point – some couldn’t care less. It’s all up to what you’re looking for.

… or have a gravel backyard. They can be equally amazing.

What I would like you to consider is that there is a lot more to this discussion than trying one beer and then panning an entire brewery. Or maybe you had a friend who reported a bad visit to a brewery. Does that mean that you would have the same experience? By the way, this also works in reverse. Just because someone likes a beer or brewery doesn’t mean that you necessarily should. All tastes are different. What one person calls a pine tree, another calls a deliciously hoppy triple IPA. A thick sugarbomb to one person is a phenomenal dessert beer to another.

“I had one of their beers a few months back and didn’t like it” should NOT equal, “that brewery is crap. No one likes their stuff.” Pay ‘em a visit and try a flight. You might be surprised. BUT, if you still don’t like it, it doesn’t mean it’s bad beer … it’s just not for YOU.