Beer of the Week: Orpheus Wandering Blues

The beauty of beer is that despite what the budget conscious Bud drinkers think, there are tons of crazy good styles out there.

And for at least me, one of the most enjoyable parts of learning about the different styles is actually getting to try them.

Last week (sorry for delay), I got to try one from a really unique local brewer here in the Atlanta area.

Orpheus Brewing isn't your traditional Ale/Porter/IPA brewery.

No, the specialize in sours, farmhouse ales, some IPA's and Belgians. All good stuff.

The Beer: Orpheus Wandering Blues

Style: Saison/Farmhouse Ale/Sour

A.B.V 7%

Appearance: Looks like Grapefruit Juice

Taste: Strong. Solid notes of blueberries and grapefruit. Not strongly carbonated, very smooth with slight notes of wheat. Really, really tasty summer beer.

Our Rating: 4.0 (out of 5)

Thoughts: This beer is not for everyone. I've been on a bit of a Farmhouse/Sour roll this summer and this beer is perfect for that. Probably the best of the bunch I've had. I would not drink this in the middle of winter, but we suspect the good folks at Orpheus wouldn't want us to.

Recommendation: If you like this style, absolutely. If you are a lager drinker with little Craft Beer experience, uh...probably no.

Festival Report: Savannah Craft Beer Festival 2014

So...if we are going to portray ourselves as reviewers of good beer and good food, that means along with some breweries, we probably need to visit some festivals.

Our 1st festival just so happened to occur on Labor Day weekend (well, ok, August 29th). It took place in Savannah at the Convention Center. The Savannah Craft Beer Festival.

The Event: 2014 Savannah Craft Beer Festival

The Location: Savannah Convention Center (across the River from River Street). Indoor and outdoor booths.

Conditions: It was hot, hot, hot outside, we had to wait awhile before they'd let us in. That was shall we say--less than fun.

The Crowd: Full, but not overwhelmingly so. Maybe a thousand or so craft beer fans in the house. It was a serious crowd, not there just to get drunk, but rather to try some new and exciting beers.

Brewers: From local (Service Brewing, Moon River, Southbound etc) to Regional (Thomas Creek, Red Hare, Red Brick, Jekyll and Burnt Hickory) to National (Stone, Dogfish Head, Lagunitas and others), there was a very diverse cross section to visit.

Samples: All of the 2 oz, small pilsner glass variety for General Admission. The VIP's got a snifter glass.

Engagement: Because of Georgia's antiquated beer rules, nobody from the breweries could pour, but most all had representatives there who interacted with the eager, questioning crowd.

Highlights: For me, Burnt Hickory's 9353 Berlinweisse was a revelation. A big, but not huge beer with a distinct fruit/tart taste. Thomas Creek's Pumpkin Ale was also very, very good.

Recommendations: This is a great "Starter" event for someone just getting into Craft Beers. It's not overwhelmingly crowded and not overrun with college frat boys looking to get drunk.

Well worth the $40 or so bucks if you can visit. Savannah is a wonderful albeit very warm town. Great place to spend a weekend.

Brewery Review: Jekyll Brewing

Recently the Ale Hoppers made another tour stop, this time in Alpharetta, Georgia, home of Jekyll Brewing.

The Jekyll team was celebrating their 1st birthday in early August and while we missed the early part of the party, we did get there for the second half of the soiree.

Here are our thoughts:

JEKYLL BREWING

Where are they: 2855 Marconi Drive, Suite 350 in Alpharetta, GA

Website: jekyllbrewing.com

Brewing Since: Summer of 2013

On Site Brewing: Yes. Absolutely. Jekyll can pump out of 900 gallons of beer. They do not have a mass production labeling machine, they hand label each bottle produced, 5 at a time.

Tasting Room: Yup. They've got one. It's kind of strange though. The facility is located in the middle of an office park. The tasting room, which also stores some of the hops and malts looks and feels like you are in somebodies office.

Vibe: Rural. Which doesn't make much sense. Though located in the middle of one of Metro Atlanta's booming suburbs in an area with a LOT of money. It doesn't come across that way. A good mixture of yuppies, bubbas and hipsters/bicyclists all in search of great beer.

Tastings and Tours: Longer hours than most. They are open Tuesday through Friday from 5 to 9pm and Saturday from 1 to 9pm. And they do accommodate group events. The event we attended was $15 and included a Mason Jar and five 5oz fills.



















Beers: (Note--They did not have all their beers available while we visited--We will review what was on tap only)

I.P.A--(Phil) I didn't drink this, only had a taste. Nothing outstanding that jumped out and said "Drink Me". A fairly typical, standard I.P.A.

Double I.P.A--(Phil) Pretty good as far as I.P.A's go. I don't generally care for them, but liked this. Very, very strong grapefruit notes and not incredibly hoppy. But it did have quite a kick.

Southern Session--(Phil) A solid, drinkable Blonde Ale. Again nothing incredible here, but a well rounded, smooth beer with a slightly floral finish. Not strong, it carries an ABV of 4.8%

Cooter Brown--(Phil) My favorite of their beers. But I enjoy a good Nut Brown Ale. Very traditional version of a classic English style. The nutty finish is prevalent with a very succinct note of chocolate. I recommend this of all the Jekyll beers. It carries an ABV of 6.0%

Notes:

---Jekyll was partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign. The guys in charge were able to raise $30,000 in just over 20 days to help start the brewery. That is quite impressive and the photo you see here has the names of everyone who contributed.

---Jekyll was chosen as the name in part because Jekyll Island is in Georgia, but mostly because the guys are history buffs. Ask them to tell you the story of James Ogelthorpe, Jekyll Island and the requirement that settlers in the 1800's were required to brew beer to help eat and drink. It's a very interesting tale.

Should You Go:

(Phil)--If you live in North Georgia, absolutely. If you don't and find yourself in that part of the world, sure. If you don't, not so much.

It's a long drive from Atlanta proper and while the beer is good, there are multiple breweries closer to town that are just as good if not better. Don't misunderstand this, the beer is very good, but it's not incredibly unique. I would be proud drink one of their beers should I come across it at a restaurant, I just don't know if the drive up there is worth it.

Our Rating: (1-5 Beer Glasses; 1-meh, 2-uh, maybe, 3-uh-huh, 4-probably, 5-uh, yes)

(Phil) 2--Uh, maybe. If in the area, we'd visit again.