GREAT ATLANTA BEER FEST 2015

It’s the best baseball memory you have: the crack of the bat, the crowd clapping and jumping, a familiar tune playing on the loud speakers. That’s what it feels like when you visit Turner Field: you’re favorite baseball memory, even if there isn’t any baseball being played at all. We’re back at the Great Atlanta Beer Fest like a beer fest with the atmosphere of a baseball game. It’s always a good time, despite the sprinkles in the air. Let’s jump into this year’s festival…

My favorite part of the fall is the influx of pumpkin and pumpkin beers, unfortunately there weren’t many to choose from at the beer fest. Most people said they brought what their distributors want them to bring regardless of season. Strike one for the distributors as variety is the spice of life, and all IPAs isn’t something that excites me. I’m a dark beer/porter/sour kind of girl. But for the porters there was the Jekyll Smoked Porter, which is always a good, local porter full of malt and almost chocolatey. There was also and Starr Hill’s Pumpkin Porter, Boxcarr. It’s dark and strong with actual pumpkin added to the mash to make the right amount of pumpkin to porter. It was a little nutmeggy (yep, I like to make up words) on the end but overall pretty good.

One of the highlights beyond the beer, was that Southern Sky Brewing, and up and coming brewery had one of their first beer fest outings and they brought their Worlds Apart Ale. They say it’s a hybrid ale with a mix of Belgium white and an Irish red. That’s pretty spot on with a light beginning and ale end. It’s versatile beer that you can drink all year round. What I’m really looking forward to is the Schwarzchild Porter that Near told me drinks more like a stout. Sign me up!

The weather was rainy, misty and gloomy but the beers and the atmosphere made it all worth the day at Turner Field. Next year, maybe we’ll get a beautiful 70 degree day with all porters, stouts and pumpkin beers. Wouldn’t that be awesome? A girl can dream, can’t she? Now go and enjoy your favorite beer and look forward to the next beer fest! There’s always Boos and Brews on Halloween and several others each weekend until then.