Wild Heaven Craft Beers
Avondale Estates, Georgia
Wild Heaven Electric Avenue, the 8th Bulleit collab
Wild Heaven Electric Avenue, the latest in the brewery’s ongoing collaboration with Bulleit Whiskey debuts this week.
Munichwine. You don’t see that style in the beer often- if at all. This is a first in 16 years for Beer Street Journal. The idea is pretty simple- think barleywine with mainly German Munich malts.
The 8th Collaboration.
Electric Avenue marks the 8th collaboration with Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, with the first release being 95 Shilling, dating back to one of the worst years in human history, 2020. There are two components to each collab – the brewer and the distillery. In Wild Heaven’s case, each of these unique releases have been the brainchild of head brewer Josh Franks. Franks excels at digging out the right beer style to compliment what barrels Bulleit will send down to Georgia.
Fresh, just emptied “wet” barrels head 437 miles south to Wild Heaven, (also one of the beer collaborations) to be filled with what Franks and co-founder Eric Johnson concocted. Having had 7 of these beers thus far, the fresh barrels make all the difference in the end result.
“Bulleit-vardier”
The Wild Heaven team were on a trip to the Bulleit Distillery last year, drinking Boulevardier cocktails (a bourbon-swapped take on the Negroni) where the idea of a cocktail-inspired “Bulleit-vardier” came to mind. The challenge? Making the herbal and bitter notes of the cocktail work in this barrel-aged beer. That’s where the additions of Gentian root, rubarb root and Angelica come in.
“The question had become what style would work well for the cocktail idea and I had really liked the idea of a Munichwine, I’m a big fan of Munich malt. But some of that Munich and aromatic malt profile doesn’t feel dissimilar to red vermouth so I ran with it,” says Franks.
Tonight we find out the result at a special Bulleit & Beer media preview at Wild Heaven’s new Toco Hills location.
Wild Heaven Electric Avenue debuts this week in 12-ounce cans and draft for a limited time.
Style: Munichwine (w/ Gentian Root, Rhubarb, Angelica. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 12oz cans, Draft.
Debut: Mid-March, 2025
9.6% ABV
Wild Heaven Beagle Party 2023
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
Wild Heaven Crab Fest brought a little bit of Maryland to Atlanta
Wild Heaven held their first Maryland-style Crab Fest in late July.
Have you ever befriended someone because of a body of water? In my case, it’s the Chesapeake Bay. Let me explain.
I grew up in Delaware. For those of you who are terrible with geography, Delaware is a state. It is actually the first state to ratify the Constitution. They’re pretty proud of that. Sarah Young, the VP, and co-owner of Wild Heaven Brewery in Atlanta, grew up in Maryland. (7th to ratify.) We’ve always talked about growing up in the mid-Atlantic over beers, which actually prompted us to make a Chesapeake Bay-themed beer (aka Old Bae), a saison with Old Bay seasoning. Folks loved it, McCormicks told us to stop. Oh well.
With that over, Sarah wasn’t ready to pack up the seasoning just yet, as it were. Sarah loves beer and crabs and Long John Silver’s drive-through wasn’t going to cut it. We were talking full-on “Bay-Style” crab boil. She brought Maryland to Atlanta in the purest form she could and did it up right.
Young sourced over 800 fresh Maryland Blue Crabs from Harbour House Crabs, which were overnighted to Wild Heaven’s Garden Room at their West End location. Tables were lined up end to end, covered in brown paper, and stacked eye level with Old Bay, crab seasonings, and wood hammers for a cracking good time. Live music started when the first crab hit the table and didn’t stop until the last one was shredded. Beers were cold and plentiful. There was enough low country boil to serve half of Maryland. By the end of it all, couples were dancing along with the band.
All Young wanted was a true-to-life Maryland crabfest in Atlanta and she freaking killed it. ATL’s finest crab-eating pros lined up before noon and when the doors opened, did what came naturally. Hopefully, this will become an annual event for the brewery.
Check out the day below 🦀
Wild Heaven Fest Beer, Year 6
Wild Heaven Fest Beer returns for a 6th time (if our drinking memory serves us well) this weekend.
A few years ago, brewery co-founder Eric Johnson debuted Autumn Defense, a creative rendition of the popular fall lager. In that case, [Defense] was actually ale, with “pronounced bright citrus flavors, brewed heavy-handedly with Munich malt.” A festbier in spirit, but as Johnson admits – not very traditional. “You’re not a brewer if you’re not experimenting I guess,” Johnson once told us. “It doesn’t always work out.”
Wild Heaven Fest Beer follows a much more traditional path since its inception. Fest Beer now is true marzen lager, officially leaving the idea of an “ale festbier” behind for good. To get here, tweaks to the recipe (and yeast) had to happen.
Johnson used Gungeist hops in years 1 and 2 of this release – a European hop of Hallertauer parentage. These hops did make a good lager, but ultimately traditional brewing just wins out. (Another revelation that happened, later, the Gungeist hop flavor wasn’t the same 4 weeks later.)
These days, the lager is brewed completely with classic Noble hops from Germany.
The path from Autumn Defense to Fest Beer was a journey unto itself. What fest beer is today is quickly becoming a fall tradition for Wild Heaven and their fans.
Wild Heaven Fest Beer is available on draft and 12-ounce cans seasonally starting this week.
Style: Festbier/Marzen
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
Debut: 9/22/18
Latest Return: August 2023
5% ABV
Image: Beer Street Journal
Wild Heaven Beagle Party 2023
Wild Heaven Neon Roses
