Savannah, GA - Moon River Brewing Company

We are so fortunate to live in Athens, GA, a wonderful and unique college town.  It's location couldn't be better. It's wedged in between two of my favorite small US cities. Drive three and a half hours to the northeast and you're in Asheville, NC.  Drive three and a half hours southeast and you're in Savannah, GA.  And that's just what we did on the weekend before Christmas this year.  We've been to Savannah many times, but not during the holidays when it's all dressed up in it's holiday finest.  It was just as lovely as we imagined. On this visit we went to two blog worthy establishments.  The first was Moon River Brew Pub.

The entrance to Moon River Brewing Company. 

Located right in the heart of historic Savannah, the Moon River Brewing Company building has an interesting past.  It was once the first city hotel in Savannah, established in 1821. All the beer is brewed in the three story building where the pub is housed.  There is exposed brick and wood throughout the warm and friendly pub located on the main floor.  There is also seating on the second floor, and reportedly there are a few ghosts that inhabit the building as well. The huge stainless steel beer vats are visible through the side windows.  My husband and I arrived shortly before 5 pm on a Friday evening and were lucky enough to get a comfortable booth right next to the lively bar located in the center of the pub. Moon River offers their own brewed beer and a few additional guest beers on tap. In addition, wine, mixed drinks and bottled beer are offered. Within a half hour there were folks outside waiting to be seated at this popular brew pub.  At 5 pm, the bartender rang a bell, recited a poem and declared a beginning to the weekend festivities.  A rousing cheer went up from the locals, and I knew we were in for a fun filled evening.

Moon River offers many enjoyable beers. 

What did we have:  As usual I ordered a sampler since I wanted to try all six beers they produced and their one cider.  The waitress also brought us a taster of a guest brew that they carried, the Heavy Seas Martzen which is one of our favorites.  The sampler consisted of Wild Wacky Witt, Apparition, Swampfox IPA, Rosemary IPA, Captain's Porter, Brown Sour and Cider.  Moon River makes some very good beer with a few brews that were outstanding.  My husband particularly liked the Apparition, a lovely brown classic English pale ale.  I was enthralled with the Rosemary IPA.  This beer is infused with rosemary, and since I'm a big fan of the herb, and could really taste it, I loved this beer.  It had a nice hop finish as well.  I imagine it's one you either love or hate.  I also liked the cider a lot.  It was quite dry, with a full apple flavor.  The waitress told me that the apples come from the north Georgia mountains and is only made in the fall after harvest.  Quite special.While we sampled our beer we enjoyed two tasty appetizers, fried green tomatoes and crab cakes. The menu has lite fare, burgers and sandwiches, and full course entries.

The beer is brewed and stored right next to the pub. 

What's fun:  The lively clientele consisting of a great blend of the unusual  mix of Savannah locals, as well as tourists add to the atmosphere. The historic setting, comfortable seating, quality beer and food, and friendly wait staff all add to the experience.  The banter between the poetic bartender and the local patrons made happy we were part of the scene on this pleasant winter evening.

Hood River, OR - Full Sail Pub

Our family has a long history of enjoying venues that offer excellent beer and wine.  I have a vivid memory of slipping a little taste of Riesling to our oldest son when we were on a family outing to a winery in the Finger Lakes region of NY.  He was 16 and I wanted him to appreciate the fine wine produced in the region.  I also remember ordering a glass of San Giovese for our youngest son in Venice so he could get the full experience of Italy.  He was also 16. So now, all the children are of legal age, and they all appreciate fine wine and quality beer.  Our family outings often include sampling the finest naturally fermented beverages available in the area.  It only made sense that on the final days of our summer vacation, we traveled to Hood River in search of both.



The unasuming entrance to Full Sail leads to the famous pub.

As fans of Full Sail beer, a trip to their brewpub in Hood River, OR was much anticpated, and thoroughly savored.   

What did we have: We enjoyed their superior beer and their unexpectedly delicious pub grub.
What's fun: Full Sail is a pleasant pub overlooking the mighty Columbia Gorge dotted with colorful wind and kite surfers that serves amazing beer and surprisingly good food.

Everyone in our family is a fan of Full Sail beer, so we decided to end our vacation together with a short trip to Hood River and a stop at the pub. Since we had been on brewery tours, we decided to pass up that experience and make our way directly to the drinking establishment. The pub is located on an unassuming street overlooking the Columbia Gorge. The first thing you notice when you enter are the wall of windows along the back allowing for amazing views of the river below, and the numerous colorful wind and kite surfers.  It is quite breathtaking and even if the beer and food wasn't that good, it still would have been a worthwhile visit. Fortunately for us, that wasn't the case.

A sampler of beer, an amazing view. 

What did we have: We wanted to try all the available beers, so we ordered two samplers, that featured seven of the twelve beers they had on tap. They offered everything from a mellow and flavorful lager to a highly hopped IPA. One thing about Full Sail that differentiates it from many other breweries is the consistency and quality of the beer. Even the brews that weren't my favorites had interesting character, depth and levels of flavor. My choices included their Pale Ale which was crisp and refreshing, the LTD 03, a lager bursting with flavor and the Belgian Style Dubbel which was bold with the perfect balance of malt and hops.  Just thinking about it makes me smile. We ordered food which was surprisingly good. Since it was a chilly day I enjoyed the Mediterranean chicken soup with orzo. The fries were a big hit with our gang, and perhaps the best of all was the turkey brie and apple panini served on garlic toast.

Delicious food and tasty beer makes for happy folks!

What was fun: A family outing to a great brew pub is always fun. Discovering 12 different beers on tap, enjoying samples of all of them, and taking in the spectacular view, added to the experience. Finding out that the food far exceeded our expectations was a pleasant surprise. Visiting the pub during the middle of the day, without crowds, when we could relax, enjoy our beer and savor the experience was priceless.