Savannah, GA - The Distillery

The front entrance to Distillery, a trendy craft beer bar. 

The Distillery is a lively bar in Savannah noted for it's craft beer selection.  Clearly one of the current trendy bars in town, The Distillery prides itself for offering "no crap beer, just craft beer." If you're looking for Bud or Miller, go elsewhere. With over 20 beers on tap and over 100 total to choose from, you should be able to find something you like.  Housed in the old Kentucky Distilling Company, the ubiquitous exposed brick and wood that you'll find all over Savannah is present. Tables out front allow the smokers to congregate. This bar is very popular with students from the Savannah School of Art and Design (SCAD), so it has an artsy vibe.  We were thrilled when we arrived to find two seats available at the bar, and the Charlie Chaplin movie, Modern Times, on the big screen TVs.  I'm told that sports are usually on the screens, but with no big games that night, we really enjoyed the silent classic while we sipped our beer.

A flight of Yuletide winter warmers surpassed expectations. 

What did we have:  Since it was the holiday season and a chilly evening, I chose the Yuletide flight of winter warmers.  Along with the flight, they give you a rating sheet that you can take notes and rate the beers on appearance, aroma, palate, flavor and overall.  That was a little too much work for me, so I just sipped, enjoyed and just marked my favorites.  The flight consisted of Highland Cold Mountain, Weyerbacher Winter, Bell's Winter White, Dog Fish Head Raison D'Etre and St. Feuillien Belgian.  This was a fantastic selection of quality craft beer.  I liked them all. My favorite without question was Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre.  Such a superior and flavorful brew, especially on tap.

A great bar and a classic movie is a fun combination. 

What's fun: The Distillery is a great craft beer bar with a hip vibe.  The crowd is interesting, the bartenders knowledgeable, friendly and helpful, and we thoroughly enjoyed a lengthy stay.  There was something so right about sipping great craft beer and watching the silent classic comedy at that bar.  It's a night I'll long remember and I highly recommend you check out the Distillery when you're in town.  You may have to wait for table, but it will be worth it.

Decatur, GA - The Brick Store Pub

A crowd gathers outside the popular Brick Store Pub.

Last weekend my husband and I went to Atlanta to do a little shopping and catch a Braves game.  Long story short, we never made it to the Braves game, but we did discover a great new pub which rates high in ambiance, good food and, especially, great beer.  The Brick Store Pub is located in the heart of Decatur, Georgia, an intown suburb of Atlanta.  Decatur is a progressive city with a trendy downtown made up of mostly independent restaurants, shops and businesses.  The Brick Store is perfectly located and perfectly named.  The pub has a brick exterior and beautiful exposed brick walls on the interior.  It's is small, cozy and is eclectically decorated with art and photographs.  The Brick Store has an upstairs loft which is named the Belgian Bar, and hence, serves Belgian, high gravity draft beers.  The eight taps rotate regularly.  Downstairs the pub has 17 taps, all craft beer, some popular local brews and some lesser known.  I was lucky to discover a new ale that has become a fast favorite.

A LaTrappe Witte and a Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo.  Yum!

What did we have:  I wanted to try something I had never had before and the Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo sounded interesting.  Jolly Pumpkin is an artisan brewery in Dexter, Michigan and I was not familiar with it's beer.  I was lucky to get the last pour from that keg, because this is one special beer.  I think the Brick Store staff did a good job with the description on the menu "an amazingly complex beer with layer after layer of interesting flavors. Some funk in the finish"  My husband chose, a LaTrappe Witte,from the Netherlands, the only Trappist white beer in the world.  He enjoyed it thoroughly.  The Brick Store offers some fine grub, too.  The locally grown philosophy was very apparent in the Veggie Sammy that I ordered.  It was bursting with fresh vegetables and spread with a spicy white bean hummus on foccacia.  Excellent!  My husband chose another of his favorites,  the bratwurst.  The side we chose was heirloom tomatoes with vinaigrette. The food was a perfect pairing with our tasty brews.

Great energy, great atmosphere at the Brick Store Pub.

What was fun:  The Brick Store Pub is popular! Arriving at 5 pm we were lucky to get the last available table.  By the time we left there was a crowd outside waiting.  That said, the atmosphere is lively, with great energy.  The service was excellent and the staff was willing to talk about the beers, make recommendations, provide info about the history and insight about the philosophy of the pub.  It's been successful for 14 years and strives to offer selections of beer that are not always available in the area.  The beer will change seasonally and I imagine if I were to return this weekend there would be new choices. Although we're not able to return this weekend, we definitely will return to the Brick Store Pub.  And if you're ever lucky enough to be in downtown Decatur, GA, I recommend you check it out, too.