Mark your calendars for November 13. The Georgia Craft Brewers Guild has declared November 13 to be Georgia Beer Day. As we saw with the passing of a weakened SB63, the Georgia legislative machine is highly influenced by financial contributions. Although in an idealistic world, the state government would want to promote local job creation and tourism, we have to play by the rules that everyone else plays by. This means that our only hope of making Georgia a great craft beer state is to investing in lobbying through the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild.
On November 13, almost every brewery in the state will donate a portion of their proceeds to the Brewers Guild's lobbying efforts. All you have to do is show up and drink beer. Here's a list of everyone participating:
Burnt Hickory Brewery - Kennesaw, GA - November 12th. Tours will be $20.00 and will include 36 on site and two crowlers of any beer to go. They will be tapping a special brew, Statesboro Blues. $5 of every one of those tours sold to the guild!
The Cannon Brewpub – Columbus, GA – November 13 & 14 - In support of the Guild, the Cannon is having a Red Jacket event where we will donate 10% of each draft on November 13th and 14th. The event, from 3PM till 10 PM on both days is also to show our appreciation for all our loyal customers that have enjoyed our beer since the Cannon opened. Come down and enjoy a Red Jacket and support a great cause.
Cherry Street Brewing - Cumming, GA - November 13th- Cherry Street has collaBEERated with O'Dempsey's Brewing to promote the Modernization of Georgia Beer Laws. Blame Canada Imperial Red Ale is an 8.8% double Irish Red Ale with huge malt up front and a nice American Citrus hop finish. Randy and Gail from O'Dempsey's will be at Cherry Street Taproom on Friday the 13th at 4pm for the Tapping and also 1pm on Saturday for Tours. ALL Sales will be donated to the Guild!!
Creature Comforts Beer Co. - Athens, GA - November 14th. CCBC will have a second tour option that day, with an increased price of $16. This tour will include the normal sampling, a sticker, as well as a 32oz crowler of a special beer brewed with one of last year's IndieGoGo campaign donors. Creature Comforts will donate $10 of every one of those tours sold to the guild!
Eagle Creek Brewery - Statesboro, GA - November 13th - 5pm - 10pm - Local Band Piano's Album release pre-party, and Eagle Creek Georgia Beer Day Festival. $15 tasting Beer, Brats, & Blues. Brats will be supplied by Hunter cattle and will be using Low Country Pale Ale. $3 of the event price will go to benefit the Georgia Craft Brewer's Guild.
Eventide Brewing -Atlanta, GA- November 14th from 12 - 6pm tickets will be $35 and will include the private release of our winter seasonal, a Baltic Porter, a 64 oz growler fill, & food. $10 will go to the brewers guild for each purchase!
Jailhouse Brewing -Hampton, GA- November 14th - Jailhouse Brewing Company is hosting a “Free the Brewers Tour” will have live music, food, a raffle for great swag and of course handcrafted JHB beer. They will donate the proceeds of the raffle and all JHB Coozie sales to the Brewers Guild. Tours are from 2-6 and are 18.00 and includes souvenir beer to go.
Macon Beer Company- Macon, GA - November 13th - Macon Beer Co. is offering a special Friday opening of the tasting room, November 13th 6 - 10 PM, to celebrate Georgia Beer Day. Tours will be $12 and will include a pint glass and 36 oz of free on-premise tastings. Macon Beer Company will donate $5 for each tour admission to the Georgia Brewer's Guild.
Max Lager's Brewery - Atlanta, GA - November 13-15 - They will be donating $1 from every beer sold to the Guild! Drink up!
Monday Night Brewing- Atlanta, GA - Nov 14 Tours will be priced at $18 and will include a free souvenir beer. $5 from every tour will be donated directly to the Guild!
Orpheus Brewing - Atlanta, GA- November 14, 6-9. They'll have Bourbon Barrel-aged, The 12th Labor, and a Sauternes barrel-aged cherry sour on tap. The Tour includes 2 souvenir bombers of Cognac Barrel-aged Sykophantes fig sour. Max 100 people, $30. The guild will get $15!
Red Brick Brewing - Atlanta, GA - November 13. Tour will be $13 with glass and beer tasting and Red Brick will donate $2 from each tour. They will also take donations at the door!
Red Hare Brewing – Marietta, GA – November 13th 5:30-7:30. Tours will be priced at $15, featuring food sampling, souvenir glassware and tasting, including our very limited Saison Rouge. $5 from every tour will be donated to the Guild! For more info on this event visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/982653475110834/
Reformation Brewery - Woodstock, GA - $15 Reformed Tour including samples and togo beer available. $5 per Tour towards the guild.
Second Self Beer -Atlanta, GA - November 14 - Will be doing their first ever bottle release. They are bottling the Mole Porter and it will only be available this one day. $15 for our 36 oz on premise tour and 1 - 12 oz Souvenir beer (labeled 'Souvenir Mole'). $5 goes to the guild!
Southbound Brewing Co. -Savannah, GA- November 13. The Tour price is $20 includes a special pilot batch 22 oz bottle brewed for the day. BBQ and live music. The guild will get $10 from each tour!
SweetWater Brewing Co. - Atlanta, GA - November 13th – Tour will be $10 and includes on site samples and the souvenir glass. $3 from each glass will be a donation to the guild!
Terrapin Beer Co - Athens, GA - Thursday, November 12th.- Tours will be $20 and will include a pint glass, 36 oz on premise, and a special 32oz growler (and fill) with the Guild and Terrapins logo! $5 of every tour will be donated to the Guild.
Three Taverns Brewery - Decatur, GA - Friday, November 13th There will be a special Support Georgia Breweries tour that will be $18 and include tastings of up to 36oz. of beer and a 32oz. souvenir glass growler filled with one of our beers to go. $5 of every tour purchase will be donated to the Georgia Brewers Guild.
Wild Heaven Craft Beers - Decatur, GA - November 13th, 5:30-8:30pm -They will be hosting the Brewery Defense Tour - $15. Three 12oz pours PLUS a free souvenir 32oz Crowler of our Autumn Defense fall beer to-go rebranded as Brewery Defense Fall Ale. 50% of every tour purchase will be donated to the Georgia Brewers Guild.
Hat tip to Jason Pellett from Orpheus for posting this on BeerAdvocate.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
2015 Macon Beer Fest is this Saturday
The Macon Beer Fest is undergoing some major changes this year. In previous years, the beer festival has featured a unique and very cool "pub crawl"-style atmosphere. Patrons would visit 10-15 venues and use their sample tickets to try beer at each venue. This format was logistically creative and offered patrons an opportunity to experience bars they may not have visited in the past. On the other hand, it also required a lot of walking around downtown, which was not always enjoyable when the temperatures were north of 95 degrees.
This year, the Macon Beer Fest is shifting the layout to a smaller footprint, occupying two blocks at the corner of 3rd and Poplar. The festival format will switch from a sample ticket system to an unlimited sample system. That means you can try your favorite beer as often as you want (unless it's everyone's favorite beer and you drink it all!). There will also be live music and more portalets available.
You may have heard radio or TV ads promoting the event as being able to sample over 30 craft beers. While this is technically true, the lineup is much closer to 50 different craft beers from nearly 30 craft breweries. This is already shaping up to be the biggest and best Macon Beer Fest to date. The festival proceeds still help support prostate cancer research through Pints for Prostates, so you'll be having a good time AND supporting a good cause.
The Macon Beer Fest is Saturday, August 22. General admission tickets are $35 and the event runs from 3PM - 7PM. If you want to start early, VIP tickets are $75 and they start off the festival early with food and a few special release beers at 1:30PM.
Buy your tickets here.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/152992298133545
Twitter: @MaconBeerFest
This year, the Macon Beer Fest is shifting the layout to a smaller footprint, occupying two blocks at the corner of 3rd and Poplar. The festival format will switch from a sample ticket system to an unlimited sample system. That means you can try your favorite beer as often as you want (unless it's everyone's favorite beer and you drink it all!). There will also be live music and more portalets available.
You may have heard radio or TV ads promoting the event as being able to sample over 30 craft beers. While this is technically true, the lineup is much closer to 50 different craft beers from nearly 30 craft breweries. This is already shaping up to be the biggest and best Macon Beer Fest to date. The festival proceeds still help support prostate cancer research through Pints for Prostates, so you'll be having a good time AND supporting a good cause.
The Macon Beer Fest is Saturday, August 22. General admission tickets are $35 and the event runs from 3PM - 7PM. If you want to start early, VIP tickets are $75 and they start off the festival early with food and a few special release beers at 1:30PM.
Buy your tickets here.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/152992298133545
Twitter: @MaconBeerFest
Friday, July 17, 2015
Macon Beer Company Grand Opening
Macon Beer Company isn't a new name to those in Middle Georgia. Their flagship beer, Macon Progress, has been available in your local bars for almost 2 years. Macon Love, the seasonal cherry blossom-themed beer, is now on its second year of production. As of this Saturday, Macon Beer Company will officially be cutting the ribbon on their tasting room, allowing you to check out the brewery and sample some beers that have never been distributed to bars.
That's right, you can try some brand new Macon Beer Company beers at their tasting room this Saturday, from 1-6PM. For $10 you'll get a Macon Beer Company pint glass, 5 tasting tickets and a tour of their brewery. Live music will be provided by The JC Connection and Moonhanger Group will be selling food. Tours will be running throughout the day so make it a point to stop by and check out the brewery and some new beers!
Speaking of those new beers, here's what you can expect to see on tap:
Macon Progress - Surely you've had this by now.
Macon Progress^2 - A variant of Macon Progress that's a little less sweet and dry-hopped with El Dorado hops. Compare it to regular Progress and see which one you like better.
Macon Love - The official beer of the Cherry Blossom festival, a blonde ale fermented with cherries to give it a full body that's sweet but not too sweet.
Macon Movies - A brand new offering that coincides with the Macon Film Festival. This amber ale is brewed with sarsaparilla to give it a hint of root beer character.
Macon Out - The perfect summer beer, a light blonde ale brewed with rye malt to give it a nice spicy finish. Currently a tap room exclusive.
Macon Homebrew - Back out of retirement, an IPA brewed with a ton of peach flavor. It is summer in Georgia, after all.
Macon Beer Company is located at 345 Oglethorpe St and will be open from 1-6 on Saturday. Come on out and support your local brewery!
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/523216804500729/
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
How SB 63 Affects Consumers
After much publicity, lobbying, backroom deals, and rewriting, SB 63 has passed and was signed by Governor Deal on May 5. It's not the bill that consumers or breweries wanted, but it is a small amount of progress. Here's what you need to know.
The biggest change that consumers will see with SB 63 is that distilleries can now open to the public for tours and tastings. That means the new craft distilleries in Georgia can now operate very similarly to how breweries operate. Consumers can pay a small fee to tour the distillery and try up to 3 half ounce samples of their products. Just like breweries, distilleries can sell you merchandise and other promotional items that aren't alcohol.
The other big change is to the revenue model of tours. Previously brewery tours and tastings had to be free. Breweries were able to recoup some of these expenses by selling you an expensive pint glass, usually for $10-12. Consumers not interested in helping breweries stay open could opt not to buy the pint glass and drink out of a plastic cup for free, but I trust no readers of this blog ever did that. With the passing of SB 63, breweries can now charge for their tours. Once you pay for the tour, all tastings and food are to be provided for free. The amount of beer you can sample during the tour has been increased from 32oz to 36oz, though I really doubt you'll notice the difference.
SB 63 also introduces the concept of a "souvenir." For both distilleries and breweries, the price of a tour may include a free souvenir to take home. At a distillery, a souvenir is up to a 750 mL bottle of distilled spirits. For breweries, souvenirs are up to 72oz of malt beverages brewed on site. That's roughly a growler, 6-pack or 3 bombers. Souvenirs must always be sealed and only one can be provided to a customer per day.
On the business end for brewpubs, the beer they sell to distributors is no longer included in their profit ratio. At a brewpub, food has to make up at least 50% of sales. In the past, beer that was sold to a distributor would count toward the "less than 50%" of profit that could be generated by beer. This is no longer the case, which might mean that brewpubs will be sending out more of their beer to growler shops and bars. Brewpubs can now bottle their beer as well, though it still is not available for retail sale at the brewpub.
You can read the bill in its entirety here. Let me know if I missed anything.
Assuming SB63 is like most legislation in Georgia, it will go into effect on July 1.
The biggest change that consumers will see with SB 63 is that distilleries can now open to the public for tours and tastings. That means the new craft distilleries in Georgia can now operate very similarly to how breweries operate. Consumers can pay a small fee to tour the distillery and try up to 3 half ounce samples of their products. Just like breweries, distilleries can sell you merchandise and other promotional items that aren't alcohol.
The other big change is to the revenue model of tours. Previously brewery tours and tastings had to be free. Breweries were able to recoup some of these expenses by selling you an expensive pint glass, usually for $10-12. Consumers not interested in helping breweries stay open could opt not to buy the pint glass and drink out of a plastic cup for free, but I trust no readers of this blog ever did that. With the passing of SB 63, breweries can now charge for their tours. Once you pay for the tour, all tastings and food are to be provided for free. The amount of beer you can sample during the tour has been increased from 32oz to 36oz, though I really doubt you'll notice the difference.
SB 63 also introduces the concept of a "souvenir." For both distilleries and breweries, the price of a tour may include a free souvenir to take home. At a distillery, a souvenir is up to a 750 mL bottle of distilled spirits. For breweries, souvenirs are up to 72oz of malt beverages brewed on site. That's roughly a growler, 6-pack or 3 bombers. Souvenirs must always be sealed and only one can be provided to a customer per day.
On the business end for brewpubs, the beer they sell to distributors is no longer included in their profit ratio. At a brewpub, food has to make up at least 50% of sales. In the past, beer that was sold to a distributor would count toward the "less than 50%" of profit that could be generated by beer. This is no longer the case, which might mean that brewpubs will be sending out more of their beer to growler shops and bars. Brewpubs can now bottle their beer as well, though it still is not available for retail sale at the brewpub.
You can read the bill in its entirety here. Let me know if I missed anything.
Assuming SB63 is like most legislation in Georgia, it will go into effect on July 1.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Taste of the South Beer Festival
Just Tap'd in downtown Macon will be hosting Taste of the South, their very first beer festival this coming Friday, April 10, from 3-9PM. Over 20 breweries from across Georgia and beyond will be in attendance. The breweries and live music will be set up in Rosa Parks Square across First Street. This festival will scale to however much time you have available to dedicate to trying new craft beers, with ticket levels starting as low as $15. Here's what's available:
Taste-Tester - $15
For $15 you'll get 8 4oz pours from any combination of breweries you're interested in.
Beer Sampler - $25
For just $10 more than the Taste Tester, you'll get 15 4oz pours plus a $5 discount on a festival t-shirt.
Beer Lover - $35
At the $35 mark you'll have 25 4oz pours, which should allow you to try something from every brewery, and you'll still get a $5 discount on a festival shirt.
Craft Beer Connoisseur - $50
The best deal comes at $50, which allows you unlimited 4oz pours plus access to a Founders VIP beer which I'm pretty sure is KBS. Not only do you get unlimited beer, you also get a festival t-shirt and 25% off any growler purchases you make on Friday.
Or you can even show up for free and just hang out. Corner Concerts will be providing live music throughout the afternoon and Peach State Ale Trail is sponsoring a cornhole tournament. I can't think of a better way to spend a Friday. And since it's on a Friday, you can still enjoy the Magnolia Soap Box Derby, Bearstock and/or Beards, Bourbon and Bacon on Saturday!
Friday, March 20, 2015
Last Chance to Support GA Beer
The following is a repost of the latest communication from the Georgia Craft Brewer's Guild:
As many of you already know, the Beer Jobs Bill has been decimated by the Senate. Despite our attempts at a reasonable compromise working with various members of the industry, our original bill was deemed too controversial for the tastes of the Senate leadership. The Regulated Industries Committee Chairman pulled the version of SB 63 originally proposed by our advocate Senator Hunter Hill and replaced it with a version written by the Senate leadership. The new version is riddled with mistakes, bad public policy, and has stripped the bill of anything that might tempt a brewery to open in the state of Georgia. We hoped to offer amendments to this new bill inside of the Regulated Industries Committee, but no amendments were allowed. So we planned that on the Senate floor we would finally get the chance to modify the new bill and offer amendments - but unfortunately again, the Senate leadership exercised it's power and some of the most important amendments were withdrawn. As one of our supporters put it, "The new bill will do nothing for jobs and has become a protectionist piece of legislation that bear hugs the status quo and smacks free enterprise in the face."
Here's what happened in the Senate -
and what we need TODAY and Monday!
and what we need TODAY and Monday!
As many of you already know, the Beer Jobs Bill has been decimated by the Senate. Despite our attempts at a reasonable compromise working with various members of the industry, our original bill was deemed too controversial for the tastes of the Senate leadership. The Regulated Industries Committee Chairman pulled the version of SB 63 originally proposed by our advocate Senator Hunter Hill and replaced it with a version written by the Senate leadership. The new version is riddled with mistakes, bad public policy, and has stripped the bill of anything that might tempt a brewery to open in the state of Georgia. We hoped to offer amendments to this new bill inside of the Regulated Industries Committee, but no amendments were allowed. So we planned that on the Senate floor we would finally get the chance to modify the new bill and offer amendments - but unfortunately again, the Senate leadership exercised it's power and some of the most important amendments were withdrawn. As one of our supporters put it, "The new bill will do nothing for jobs and has become a protectionist piece of legislation that bear hugs the status quo and smacks free enterprise in the face."
So now we're on to the House and we have to ask them to fix the Beer Jobs Bill. With some common sense amendments this bill can underpin some of Georgia's craft breweries and give us a small amount of flexibility to show what kind of tourism our industry can provide. This bill has to be modified, at the very least, into something that doesn't actively hurt Georgia breweries. But we should go further and ask that the Republican majority in the House to stick true to it's roots - we need a bill that drives economic growth, makes Georgia's beer industry competitive, and gets our craft breweries hiring! Georgia's politicians say that we're the number one place to do business - it's time to make them prove it.
Help us take the bill the Senate leadership gave us and let's turn it back into the
Beer Jobs Bill.
Beer Jobs Bill.
Here's what we need now:
Reach out to the members of the House Regulated Industries Committee and let them know that you support common sense amendments to SB 63, the Beer Jobs Bill. You can find a list of committee members here. As before, phone calls can be better than emails, but both are well-recieved and appreciated. We believe that we'll have a hearing in front of the Alcohol Sub Committee (consisting of members of the Regulated Industries Committee) on Monday - it's important that they hear from supporters going into that meeting!
If you'd like to reach out to your local representative, you can find them here.
As always you can also help by sharing gabeerjobs.com on Facebook. Ask your friends to sign the petition. We need all of Georgia behind this. Use the button below to share now:
Finally, thank you for all of your hard work and support over the last few weeks - it's meant a lot to our cause.
Cheers,
Nancy Palmer
Executive Director, Georgia Craft Brewers Guild
Reach out to the members of the House Regulated Industries Committee and let them know that you support common sense amendments to SB 63, the Beer Jobs Bill. You can find a list of committee members here. As before, phone calls can be better than emails, but both are well-recieved and appreciated. We believe that we'll have a hearing in front of the Alcohol Sub Committee (consisting of members of the Regulated Industries Committee) on Monday - it's important that they hear from supporters going into that meeting!
If you'd like to reach out to your local representative, you can find them here.
As always you can also help by sharing gabeerjobs.com on Facebook. Ask your friends to sign the petition. We need all of Georgia behind this. Use the button below to share now:
Finally, thank you for all of your hard work and support over the last few weeks - it's meant a lot to our cause.
Cheers,
Nancy Palmer
Executive Director, Georgia Craft Brewers Guild
Monday, February 9, 2015
What's On Tap?
Rookery and Margarita's in Mercer Village are both posting their draft lists online. I've updated the links on the sidebar, but you can find out what's currently available at the links below.
As usual, all of our local growler shops keep up to date lists online.
Growler Spot - https://www.facebook.com/growlerspots/app_350090741787212
Just Tap'd Macon - http://www.justtapd.com/now-pouring-3/now-pouring-macon/
Just Tap'd Warner Robins - http://www.justtapd.com/now-pouring-3/now-pouring-2/
Top Dawg Growler - http://www.topdawggrowler.com/tap-menu/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)