Sweetwater Brewing Company Georgia Brown
Tags: English Brown Ale, Georgia Brown, Sweetwater Brewing Company
What’s on Tap: Sweetwater Brewing Company Georgia Brown
This 49,000 barrel microbrewery was founded by Frederick Bensch and Kevin McNerney in Atlanta Georgia in 1997. Five years later, Sweetwater gained national attention and was recognized as Small Brewery of the year at the Great American Beer Festival. Georgia Brown, a GABF 2001 Gold Medal winner, is an English Style Brown Ale.
The Head: Sweetwater Georgia Brown Characteristics
- Alcohol by Volume 5.2% ABV
- Serving Temperature 45-50°F.
- Color Deep copper
- Bittering Units 44
- Malts 2 Row Pale,Black, Victory, Crystal, Chocolate
- Hops Columbus, Willamette
The Body: The actual tasting
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oured into a pint glass, this translucent brownish amber contained some mahogany over tones with a one inch off-white head. The retention was averaged that eventually receded to a thin coverage, almost nonexistent. It seems as though the Georgia Brown is much lighter in consistency than some other brown ales. There is almost no lacing left on the glass. This brew yields a prominent aroma of fresh grains with some bready and caramelish notes. On the palate, very little bitter hops, burnt toast with a nutty, sweet malty characteristics like a hazelnut or almonds. Surprisingly, a light bodied mouthfeel even with the carbonation lingering around. Drinks fairly easily for a decent brown ale, not a great one!
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5| taste: 3.0 | feel: 3.0 | drink: 4.0
Overall : 3.3 / 5.0
Lasting Finish: The final word
Brown Ales are not my favorite style of brews, but this had a solid showing. However, could be a forgettable one too.
Comments welcomed – until next time
wines to sample, this in-store tasting is one of the largest tastings in Lake County. People seem to come out of the woodwork for this tasting. I got a sneak peek at the line-up. Believe me, Rick has out did himself. I guarantee the best selection of breweries in all of the twenty years. To drop some hints, how does Bells, New Holland and Magic hat sound. Stop by from 1-5 on Saturday and try some free samples!
I really liked this stout. When pouring into my pint glass, the appearance was jet jet black with a two finger brown sugar creamy head. Unbelievable nose but not overpowering. Very balanced, with aromas of bitter sweet chocolate, roasted coffee and black licorice. The taste follows the nose. This full bodied stout is slightly sweet with a powerful roasted malt with coffee and chocolate flavors tantalizing the taste buds. The hoppy finish compliments the roasted barley. The mouthfeel is smooth with just the right amount of carbonation to makes you come back for another sip. There is really nothing out of the ordinary with this brew. It is a stout that is brewed perfectly to the characteristic of this style with an ABV that lets me enjoy it all night long.
All I can say is thanks Tony! I strolled into the liquor store the other day and of course I started talking beer with a few of the managers. The next thing I knew, Tony was handing me a a Mephistopheles’ Stout from his own collection. A 12oz bottle that has been aging for almost 4 years. This imperial stout (2006 Batch No 1) pours dark black coal in color with a thin dark chocolate head that dissipates to a thin film with spotted lacing. The aromas were plenty with strong toffee, chocolate and coffee smells. In addition some fruity notes of black cherry and plum. The taste was just as complex as the smell, leaving nothing to the imagination. Intense roasted malts with a boozy warmth. Hints of cherries and raisins hit the palate midway through and finishing up with the taste of espresso from Starbucks. The velvet mouthfeel leaves a smooth finish with the warmth from the high ABV. Drink at cellar temperatures to enjoy all the flavors this beer offers. Very enjoyable and after 4 years still aging quite well. Hopefully Tony saved another bottle for himself to sample in a year or two.
Twas the night before Christmas Eve, and I sit on the couch. Looking out the picture window at my house that is all aglow. The snow falling pretty heavily, making a beautiful white back drop which compliments the vibrant Christmas lights that hang off the house. Truly a sight to see, a perfect night to relax and enjoy a Domaine DuPage. From the 12 oz bottle, Domaine DuPage pours a slightly hazy mixture of copper and amber in color with apparent carbonation that rises to the surface to form a 1/4 inch creamy tan head that is retained throughout the life. A foamy lace stuck to the pint glass as I drank this ale. Toasty malt dominated the bouquet with hints of sweet caramel. The taste, all I can say is delicious. Much like the aroma, the toasted malts were apparent along with fruity and sweet overtones. My buddy commented said it tasted similar to a saison. I would say there are some of the same characteristics, however Domaine DuPage is missing the spices that a saison tends to have. Not knocking this at all, just saying that this ale is not spicy to me. A crisp mild hop finish leaves the palate wanting more. The mouthfeel is a medium body with some noticeable carbonation almost champagne like ( not quite as much). True to the biere de garde description, Two Brothers did a decent job with this. Definitely has a drinkable profile!
On Monday, I found myself walking the liquor store aisles looking for a beer to critique. I strolled past the German section, then the Belgium section and found myself in front of the seasonal beers. As my eyes scanned the shelf from left to right and then from top to bottom, I noticed my eyes fixating on the Breckenridge Christmas Ale bottle. There was no doubt, the label is very warm and festive. It was as if the label called out to me. So I couldn’t resist, I grabbed the bottle and off to the cash register I went. Tonight was the night, a night that was well below freezing – ideal for a Christmas Ale. The clear mahogany color with hints of dark brown shades throughout the brew filled my pint glass and left a one finger frothy beige head that quickly dissipated to a thin tan layer on top. Very little lacing was present, but the little that was there had some sticky characteristics. The biggest disappointment – the smell or lack there of. Not much going on with the bouquet. I expected to the nose to be more prevalent with smells of spices, hops and malts. Instead, some hops were there with a little sweetness from the malt. Being weak with the smell, I didn’t expect much from the taste. To my pleasant surprise, the taste had much more flavor than smell. Roasted malt was present which blended with a vanilla and brown sugar sweetness, finishing with a pleasant bitterness from the hops. The mouthfeel is a medium body that was a little oily with a pop of carbonation.
I can’t believe my last blog was written on Black Friday – too long ago. My apologies to all. So lets get right into the tasting. As the first snowfall of the season has blanketed my town in white and the trees glisten from the holiday lights, I thought this would be a perfect time to try Ridgeway’s Bad Elf, an IPA / winter beer. The second one from the “bad elf” collection that I have tasted and to be honest, just an average ale for me. After these two, I couldn’t find the wow factor on either one of the bad elf ales. Poured into a pint glass, a thick dense white creamy head was displayed that measured two fingers. It took a while for the head to diminish down to a layer that blanketed the top of my beer. As it did so, it left traces of lacing on the side of the pint glass. Throughout my drinking, there was noticeable lacing that adhered from top to the bottom of the glass. The slightly hazy golden color shows a fair amount of carbonation. The smell was sweet and full of citrus notes and hops. The taste was similar to the smell with the hops up front but not bitter like traditional IPAs. To balance out the hops, a smooth maltiness with a touch of caramel finished on the pallet. The mouthfeel was surprising light for this style, although I enjoyed the creaminess of the beer that stuck in my mouth well after taking a sip. The drinkability was pretty good as it is balanced, but will not knock your socks off.
Thanksgiving is a special holiday for me, not because of the terrific food and beer, but the chance to spend quality time with friends and family. Arriving at my parent’s house yesterday, I opened the car door to that familiar smell of turkeys grilling on the Weber grill. Another year that dad cooked those birds to perfection and I can’t leave out mom with all the hard work she does; skillfully timing the side dishes to be hot and ready once the birds are carved. The only downfall-no left overs for me 