Wild Heaven Craft Beers

Wild Heaven Adds Capacity with Lazy Magnolia

Wild Heaven Craft Beers (Avondale Estates, GA) has recently addedLazy Magnolia (Kiln, MS) as a contract brewery. This move will allow a little more open-ended brewing creativity, while they plan the build out of their new brewery space. They will continue Continue Reading →

Posted in New Releases, Videos, Wild Heaven Craft Beers

Beer Street Journal Video: Brewing a Tomato Saison with Wild Heaven

Beer Street Journal joined Wild Heaven Craft Beers brewmaster Eric Johnson on a backyard brew day in rural Winterville, Georgia. This 50-gallon setup is the birthplace of Wild Heaven. This wasn’t any old pale ale brew day, we were on a special mission. Brew a special tomato-based beer for JCT Kitchen’s Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Festival.

Honestly, I can’t think of a single beer brewed with tomatoes. Neither could Eric, so when he went looking around brewers forums, not a lot of people thought it was a good idea. This is something you need to know about Eric Johnson. You can’t tell him no. For this first edition, the base beer is White Blackbird, an upcoming saison release by the brewery. Heirloom tomatoes were selected to add to the mash, then spiced with white peppercorns. For added depth, the saison was aged on cacao nibs and  Madeira oak.

If you are in Atlanta, you’ll get a shot at this brew this weekend.

Style: Saison (w/ Tomatoes, White Peppercorns, Cacao Nibs, Oak Aged. Madeira)
Availability: Draft only. Festival Limited

7.4% ABV

Watch More: Exclusive Beer Street Journal Video

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Event Pics, Foothills Brewing, Westbrook Brewing Co, Wild Heaven Craft Beers

Inside the Atlanta Food And Wine Festival 2013 [PICS]

Summer officially arrived over the first weekend in June, when the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival hit the streets of Midtown. Beer Street Journal was there, scoping out the craft beer and food scene at one of the finest festivals we’ve ever attended.

After a 10 year partnership, Elizabeth Feichter and Dominique Love joined forces to create AFWF a couple of years back and it has grown in to a must-do event for all Southern food and drink fanatics. The three day event puts attendees in the mix with some of the best chefs, brewers, winemakers, and mixologists the southeast has to offer.

Beer lovers weren’t left out. Atlanta saw a couple of brewers (and breweries) that aren’t seen very often, including Foothills (Winston-Salem, NC) and Mystery Brewing (Hillsborough, NC). In the images below, note Edward and Morgan Westbrook (Westbrook Brewing), Jaimie Bartholomaus (Foothills), Bob Sandage (Wrecking Bar Brewpub), and Bob Townsend (Beer writer, AJC). Goose Island, Wild Heaven Craft Beers, Lazy Magnolia, and Lexington Brewing & Distilling  also joined in on the fun.

Go ahead and drool over some of the food and drink pictures, including Top Chef Eli Kirshtein pouring a SweetWater Blue/Moonshine cocktail, bacon, steak, and the amazing people in craft beer. Enjoy, and don’t miss the festival next year. [AtlantaFood&WineFestival]

 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Seasonal Return, Wild Heaven Craft Beers

Wild Heaven Ode To Mercy Special Winter Ale Returns Late November

Wild Heaven Ode To Mercy Special Winter Ale

has become a seasonal Atlanta favorite over the past few years. The Avondale Estates, Georgia based brewery will bring the beer back to taps in a few weeks. Brewmaster Eric Johnson took Ode To Mercy, and added bourbon soaked oak chips.  The result is a winter beer with oak, vanilla, coffee, with a semi sweet finish.

Style: American Brown Ale (bourbon oak chips)

Availability: Draft only. Winter seasonal

8.2% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in New Releases, Wild Heaven Craft Beers, Wrecking Bar Brewpub

Wild Heaven & Wrecking Bar Collaborate on “Wrecking Heaven”

This week, Wild Heaven Craft Beers (Avondale Estates, GA) and The Wrecking Bar (Atlanta, GA) unveil a new collaboration. Just in time for Atlanta Beer Week 2012, the two breweries have created a Polish-style Grätzer dubbed Wrecking Heaven. Before we get into the collab, let’s review what Grätzer is.

Grätzer is the German term for an indigenous Polish beer style called Grodziskie. You’ll see mention of the style in Polish brewing history through the late 1900’s. A Grätzer is a top fermented smoked wheat beer. Why is there a German term for the name? Two reasons actually. Grätzer is derived from the town of Grätz, now known as Grodzisk in Poland. Historically, the brew contained a mix of Polish and German hops & wheat. The two breweries recreated this style, at the Wrecking Bar in Atlanta.

Wrecking Heaven’ is a Grätzer, which is a little-known Polish style that is brewed with smoked wheat malt. We added the twist of some Special B malt as well as using Magnum and Nelson Sauvin hops. It clocks in at around 4.2% ABV and is a deliciously sessionable beer with smoky notes and a piney viniferous nose and finish. It is fermented with a Kolsch yeast and has a dry crispness through the finish with hints of tropical fruits and citrus.

This is Wrecking Bar’s first distributed beer. Tappings to follow.

Style: Smoked Wheat Beer (Grätzer)
Availability: Draft only

4.2% ABV

Taps 10/25/12

Locations: 

@BrickStorePub @TwainsDecatur @PorterBeerBar @TheFredBar @MidwayPub @AugustineATL @TrappezePub (Athens, GA)

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Wild Heaven Craft Beers

Wild Heaven Adds Capacity with Lazy Magnolia

Wild Heaven Craft Beers (Avondale Estates, GA) has recently addedLazy Magnolia (Kiln, MS) as a contract brewery. This move will allow a little more open-ended brewing creativity, while they plan the build out of their new brewery space. They will continue to brew at both facilities.  There is already beer in the tanks at Lazy Mag.

No word on new beers in the works, but as Nick Purdy of Wild Heaven has always told me “they are always on the horizon.”

note: Correction to earlier story. Wild Heaven hasn’t “switched” to Lazy Mag. They are brewing at both.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Atlanta Beer Week, Burnt Hickory Brewery, JailHouse Brewing, O'Dempsey's, Red Brick Brewing, Red Hare Brewing, Terrapin Beer Company, Wild Heaven Craft Beers, Wrecking Bar Brewpub

Check Out Our Atlanta Beer Week ’12 Logo

Atlanta Beer Week 2012Atlanta Beer Week 2012 is coming, prep your livers.  October 20-27 will bring you the best beer, accented by some of the best food, and people in the industry.

If you ask me, Atlanta is one of the fastest growing beer markets in the United States.  With over 6 million people in and around the city, a great beer literally a few feet away.  In the past few weeks alone, Mother Earth Brewing, Anderson Valley, Clown Shoes, and Blue Point have entered the state.  Boulevard Brewing, Green Flash & Goose Island are on their way to the A.

 Let’s not forget some of the best beers are brewed in our own backyard.  Terrapin is growing, just passing the 10 year mark.  Red Brick shows us barrel aging is artform.  Wild Heaven brews up new beers while on the path to a home of their own in Avondale Estates.  2012 will be a big year for the Monday Night folks.  Georgia will have some hometown can beer soon when Red Hare  kicks up the line this summer.  Every time Jailhouse makes the 20 minute drive into the big city, it’s with a truck full of tasty that doesn’t last very long.  O’Dempsey’s been hitting some stout laden homeruns.  Oh, and Burnt Hickory?  We’re ready for you. Bring the heat.. SweetWater? Where to begin.  You don’t get ranked #23 craft brewery in the country for nothing.  They are the period at the long sentence that is the Atlanta beer scene.

Brewpubs? We’ve got ’em. 5 Seasons West has been rocking out lately with some of the best new creations since opening a couple of years ago.  5 Seasons Prado under Kevin McNearney is hop solid.  Wrecking Bar was recently nominated as one of the best in the U.S.   On the subject of the best in the U.S. – let’s talk beer bars. Some of the best on planet earth.  Porter Beer Bar, Brick Store Pub, Trappeze Pub (Athens) all break RateBeer.com’s Top 20.  Don’t even get me started on beer stores.  You’ve guessed it. More of the best in America.

Here in Atlanta we’re thirsty, and that’s just fine with us.  Forget what you thought you knew.  It’s the south. It’s beer. It’s Southern Beer Culture.

Thanks to Bart Sasso and Esperanza-ATL for the absolutely badass logo.  It will look good tattooed on something. 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Cool Stuff, Wild Heaven Craft Beers

What’s The Impact Of Growlers? Ask Wild Heaven

I had a discussion today with Nick Purdy of Wild Heaven Craft Beers (Avondale Estates, Georgia.)  The brewery recently reviewed their 2012 draft sales to date and found an interesting number.   24% of their total 2012 draft sales have come from Georgia’s 18 growler accounts.  Georgia figured out just over a year ago that growlers are legal for sale in off premise accounts NOT selling liquor.  Since then, there are 18 places around Atlanta to purchase growlers, with at least 3 more in planning.

Nearly 1/4 of the total sales of a small brewery comes from draft beer sold in glass jugs to go.  Something to ponder.

pic: Nick Purdy of Wild Heaven (Left), Avondale Estates Mayor Ed Rieker &  The Beer Growler co-owner Paul Saunders on the first Sunday sales day in Avondale Estates, Georgia. 
by Reid Ramsay