Breweries
Monday Night Atlanta 404 Lager hits the Peach State soon
Monday Night Atlanta 404 Lager, a new lower alcohol by volume lager will debut soon from the Atlanta-based brewery.
Monday Night Brewing is prepping a new lager- namely Atlanta 404 Lager, for release in the near future. For context – “404” is Atlanta’s area code. (Think NYC’ s famous 212 area code.)
The lager mot only carries the “404” area code, but is purportedly is also brewed with primarily Georgia grown ingredients.
PIC ARCHIVE: MONDAY NIGHT BREWING
It is the intention of Monday Night to make Atlanta 404 Lager more than a beer. It is important to note that finally plans/details haven’t been finalized- the brewery wants to see a portion of the sales of the 404 set aside to create a “404 Fund” intended to be a financial vessel to give back to the city.
Monday Night Atlanta 404 Lager will be available year round in cans and draft. A release date has not been set.
Style: Lager
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Year-Round
Debut: TBA
4.04% ABV
After announcing closure, Pontoon Brewing to re-open January 17th (Updated)
Pontoon Brewing will reopen their Sandy Springs, Georgia location on January 10th, 2024.
Pontoon Brewing announced the closure of both their brewery locations back in late October 2023. At the time the brewery cited payment issues with their main distributing partner, which was Bevana at the time.
In the months that followed, brewery owner Sean O’Keefe worked to find another financial solution to keep Pontoon Brewing alive. Fast forward to New Year’s Eve, and the brewery teased a return to operations – and ultimately, issuing a statement that the brewery would re-open.
It’s been quite a year for Pontoon and certainly didn’t end the way we wanted it to. After being forced to close, we thought our story was finished. Rather than call it quits, we decided to lean on our friends, family and community, to continue fighting and try to keep the brand that we have worked so hard to build! We decided to make some tough decisions and go back to our roots; our home at Sandy Springs. We are saying goodbye to our Tucker location and focusing on our original spot, more limited and selective distribution and the beers that you all have grown to love!
We are opening back up on January 17th, 2024 and heading into the new year with our own set of resolutions so that we can continue to build our community here in Sandy Springs and the surrounding Atlanta area!
Thank you for all the amazing support and love you’ve shown us and our amazing team throughout the year and during this time, and we can’t wait to see your lovely faces again very soon!
Pontoon Brewing via Instagram
The Tucker, Georgia location will close, leaving the original Sandy Springs location open, alongside limited distribution starting January 17th, 2024.
Ed Note: Article has been updated to reflect the new reopening date of 1/17/24
Wild Heaven Punched Up Fruited Sour, Version 2
Wild Heaven Punched Up Fruited Sour with Raspberry, Guava, Passion Fruit, and Pineapple debuts Friday, February 7th.
This latest Punched Up was slated for late fall of 2023, but apparently life got a bit in way of its release. nevertheless, this tart fruit blast drops Friday.
Wild Heaven Punched Up joined the brewery’s lineup as a spring seasonal nearly a year ago, featuring peach, orange and mango. For the colder winter temps and shorter days, the brewery went with a more tropical fruit theme – namely raspberry, guava, passionfruit and pineapple.
12-ounce cans of Punched Up, along with its draft counterpart arrive at both brewery locations on Friday, January 7th. Perfect for drinking while you procrastinate taking down the Christmas decorations.
Style: Sour Ale (w/ Raspberry, Guava, Passion Fruit, Pineapple.)
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Seasonal Release.
Debut: 1/7/24
5% ABV
Three Taverns 10th Anniversary BBA Barleywine debuts this weekend
Three Taverns 10th Anniversary BBA Barleywine releases November 18th.
Decatur, Georgia’s Three Taverns celebrates 10 years on November 18th. In addition to a celebration at the brewery’s original location, the brewery is releasing 10th Anniversary BBA Barleywine.
The blended English-style barleywine was aged in both 15th Calumet 15 Year Bourbon barrels as well as Laird’s Apple Brandy Barrels
Rich and luscious flavors of toasty vanilla, caramelized apple, char, and subtle vanilla abound in this 12% English-style barleywine.
Three Taverns 10th Anniversary BBA Barleywine is on sale on the brewery’s website now for pickup on November 18th, for $18 dollars each.
Style: Barleywine (Barrel-Aged, Bourbon. Apple Brandy.)
Availability: 375ml Bottles. Brewery only
Debut: 11/18/23
12% ABV
Sierra Nevada Celebration IPA returns in cans this month
It’s always nice to see a venerable beer like Sierra Nevada Celebration IPA still able to stir up some excitement. The brewery posted a picture of Celebration cans ready waiting to be filled, and fans re-professed their love for this seasonal beer all over again. Celebration IPA is an absolute seasonal classic, akin to Bell’s Two Hearted, or Russian River’s Pliny the Elder. Only, you can only get it as the year wind’s down.
Celebration Ale has hit shelves once again.
Sierra Nevada has been brewing this fresh-hopped India pale ale since 1981, just one year after opening in 1980. While craft beer’s #1 selling style [IPA] has seen a lot of trends, Celebration Ale has remained steadfast in simply staying as-is. Perhaps that mix of quality and reliability is what makes it so popular – a fact proven by the overwhelming reactions from Celebration fans after the brewery posted the above photo this week.
Celebration Ale follows Oktoberfest in the brewery’s seasonal series of releases.
Style: IPA
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
First Release: 1981
Latest Return: November 2023
6.8% ABV
PIC: Beer Street Journal
Ecliptic Brewing sells
Ecliptic Brewing in Portland, Oregon has announced the brewery has been sold.
Ecliptic Brewing announced this week that the brewery has officially been sold, per the brewery’s owner and brewmaster John Harris.
In an Instagram announcement, the Harris stated the last two years of brewery operations have been challenging – citing the pandemic, rising cost of goods, and overall economic climate. “It has gotten to the point where we are no longer able to continue operations, and the company has been sold,” the statement reads.
“A Bigger Entity.”
Harris mentioned in the statement that the sale will allow the brewery to pay back debts with a “bigger entity” – which has now been disclosed as Great Frontier Holdings that includes Ninkasi Brewing and Wings & Arrow Beer Company.
The restaurant will be open through Saturday, November 18th.
The Ecliptic Brewing beers and production will presumably continue on through Great Frontier Holdings channels.
Ecliptic Brewing opened their “Mothership” restaurant and brewery in October of 2013. In November 2021, Ecliptic took over Base Camp Brewing’s space in southeast Portland- renaming the location “The Moon Room.”
Anheuser-Busch sells Virtue Cider back to owner
Quietly, Fennville, Michigan’s Virtue Cider has returned back into the hands of the founder Greg Hall.
Virtue Cider is no longer part of Anheuser-Busch. This deal took place back in August, around the same time Anheuser Busch was selling off eight brands to Tilray, and has been flying almost completely under the radar until a mention of the sale surfaced this week in Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.
After reaching out to Virtue Cider, a spokesperson with the A-B Craft Division confirms that Greg Hall reaquired the cidery back in August. Per the email:
Today we announced an agreement to purchase Virtue Cider from our partners at Anheuser-Busch. It’s been a great five years with Anheuser-Busch, and I want to thank my colleagues and fellow craft brewery founders for believing in Virtue Cider and helping us create some of the best cider in the world.
Moving forward, we’ll continue to focus on what we’ve always done: making world-class ciders that are fit for the table, being great stewards of the environment, and helping more people discover Fennville and all that Southwest Michigan has to offer.
Greg Hall, Founder, Virtue Cider
In 2015 it was reported that Virtue Cider had fallen behind financially. Ultimately Hall decided to sell off the controlling stake in Virtue to Anheuser Busch. In 2017, A-B bought the remaining stake in September 2017.
Fast forward to 2023, AB InBev has lost billions over the summer after a failed marketing campaign, and as mentioned earlier, sold off numerous brands including Shock Top, in their portfolio off to cannabis company, Tilray.
The deal is still pending approval through the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. The financials of the deal and closing date were not disclosed.
Beer Street Journal visited Virtue Cider earlier this summer. It’s a bit off the beaten path, but quite peaceful (and delicious).
