PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE BEER SOMMELIER
ATLANTA’S CRAFT BEER SCENE
brewer to get on board, and we also have sprawl, so getting from brewery to brewery here is very difficult.” More breweries have hopped into the fray like Jailhouse Brewing Company in 2009, Wild Heaven in 2010 and this year alone, Monday Night Brewing, Red Hare Brewing Company and Burnt Hickory Brewery in Acworth have all started brewing their concoctions for public consumption, with more Georgia breweries already approved to open next year. Atlanta is also home to a few not-to-be-missed brewpubs like 5 Seasons, Park Tavern and the highly touted new hotspot, Wrecking Bar Brewpub. Perhaps the biggest boon to the success of craft beer, however, is its ability to pair so well with food.
THE ABCs OF CRAFT BEER Like their culinary counterparts who possess the creativity and ability to transform an old favorite into a new one, brewers have refined palates and are constantly pushing their own set of boundaries. The response has been well received, so much so that sommeliers and food pairings now share the same sentence as the word beer. “Just about everything that used to be associated with wine can now be associated with beer,” Simpson said. “All the characteristics both physical and social of wine are being adopted by craft beer including bottle shape, sizes, the strength of the beer being offered, the complexity of beers, the appreciation by the public, and the fact that people are doing beer tastings or beer dinners when those used to be the exclusive realm of wine.” Restaurants today strive to carry a more diverse beer portfolio because, as some would argue, craft beer is a better choice when it comes to pairing food. “Wine is a very specific pairing and the reason why sommeliers are so respected is because they have a very difficult job,” said Ryan Johnson, senior trade brewer for Tenth and Blake, the
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Points North | December 2011 | ptsnorth.com