We decided on Mellow Mushroom on Washington Road. I had to visit the tap handles to decide what to buy. When the bartender says “$2 Pints on Magic Hat” my Cheap Bastard kicked in.

The Magic Hat #9 look

I enjoyed it. A different brew. I could taste the hops, slight bitterness. Darker than it tastes. Magic Hat calls #9 as “Not Quite Pale Ale”
I found this description on their website. “A beer cloaked in secrecy. An ale whose mysterious and unusual palate will swirl across your tongue and ask more questions than it answers. A sort of dry, crisp, refreshing, not-quite pale ale. #9 is really impossible to describe because there’s never been anything else quite like it.”

We just ate the pretzels (actually twisted and baked pizza dough). I might have to try this next time with Pizza. Hmmm. Writing this is making me hungry again.

For those who follow such stuff, here’s the “stuff” about #9.

TYPE: Not Quite Pale Ale
YEAST: English Ale
HOPS: Cascade, Columbus
MALTS: Pale, Crystal
ABV: 4.6
GRAVITY: 11.00 Plato
BITTERNESS: 20
SRM: 9.0

The JailHouse on the glass kinda hides behind the beer

JailHouse Slammer Wheat
Mrs. Dan and I took my 91-year-old momma out for pizza. Life stays in perspective somehow when you have your 91-year-old momma and your 3-year-old son sitting together in a pizza place, one sipping Merlot and the other lemonade.

I’ve always loved coming to Slices Pizza (downtown Griffin, GA) because its a small cozy place that proves good can come from a place I feared as a child. It’s in the same building as the old Griffin Hotel. A place filled with creepy old men and one notorious old man… I’ll call “Jack,” who used to wander around downtown and call kids at home “just to talk.” That was 40 years ago. Slices is much better than the long closed Griffin Hotel.

Tonight the good coming out of the Griffin Hotel, in addition to the great pizza, was a new brew I had never heard of.

The flyer at the front door announced “JailHouse Brewing. Beer so good it should be outlawed.” Looks like Hampton, just north of here, finally has something to brag about other than the Atlanta Speedway and the regional FAA Control Center. Some good-old-boys took over an old jail house and started making hand-crafted beers saying “no license plates here…positively refreshing and downright southern.” I’ll bite. Or drink rather.

They listed two brews: Slammer Wheat and Mugshot IPA. They only had the Slammer Wheat at Slices. I’ll have to wait for the Mugshot IPA.

I’ll cut to the chase (I’ve got a beer butt turkey brining I need to finish up) I like it. This is not the typical wheat brew I’m used to. When I think Wheat I think Bell’s Oberon. This brew has a slightly sweet taste at the start that turns slightly bitter and then trails on and on. I have to wonder if there is a hint of rye in there. Not full-bodied but not too light either. This is a great pizza beer. I’m not sure it’s a beer you simply plot your butt on a bar stool and drink or drink at a ball game. The long finish… and I mean long finish… is best broken by a good slice of Greek or Meat lovers pizza.

The JailHouse Brewing glass

The pour was delivered in a JailHouse Brewing pint glass. The “Jail House” part of the glass is about the same color as their beer. When it’s full you can’t easily read it (or photograph it). I guess they are subliminally freeing the name as you drink it. A jailbreak of sorts.

Good brew. I want more. And the icing on the cake? Not to say I’m easily swayed by free swag, the server said “You can keep it.” when I tried to return the glass. “The guys from Jail House were here yesterday and gave us a bunch.”

Slammer Wheat Tap Handle

Mrs. Dan was not impressed. We had come to an agreement to keep the kitchen cabinets manageable…. she had to limit the number of coffee mugs and I had to limit the number of pint glasses. That agreement was been broken by me ever since I brought home the Oberon glass.

I finally got on the net and found their website. Looks like they started brewing October 23rd when they got their license. That’s barely a month ago so I guess I’m drinking some of their first. I wish Glenn Golden and the crew luck and happy brewing!

I just hope that I can enjoy a Mugshot IPA in the future at the Pizza Joint or Mellow Mushroom back in Augusta. (hint hint you guys).
From: Hampton, GA
Winery: JailHouse Brewing

A tasty pint of Fat Tire Amber

So, before I lost all my money to his bowling…. and the golf game next to it…. I thought I better get a pint. The Fat Tire neon in the window caught my eye. I thought a bottle would coming my way but I noticed the Fat Tire handle. Fat Tire Amber is now available on draft in the area. When it was announced in mid-May that Fat Tire was heading East from Colorado for the first time (legally), the larger commemorative bottles featuring “Georgia on my Ride” and “Pedaling into the Palmetto State” would be the only available until mid-July when regular bottles would arrive. Now it’s on tap.

The tap handle at the Metro for Fat Tire.... wow, look at that handle for Magic Hat!

I rather enjoyed my pint. I’m glad that now one of my favorite brews is only a handle pull away.

From: Colorado

Brewery: New Belgium

I raise my cup of Killian's Irish Red to John Smoltz

What: I have to be up front and say that if I was stranded on a desert island and could only have one beer, it would be Killian’s. It’s been my favorite since a strange night in May of 1987 when I was working on my Masters Degree at Ohio University. I was walking through the Kroger in Athens, OH, buying Pop Tarts when I got a weird notion in my head to actually try shaving with a actual shaver, not a electric shaver as I had done for some 20 odd years. I carefully selected a brand of shaver and picked out the shaving cream my dad used and headed for the checkout. I stopped at the beer cooler thinking I might need moral support. I saw Killian’s for the first time and it said “Irish” on the label and I said “I must have it.”

I sat on the couch that night waiting for bleeding to stop. After a few swatches I remembered my dad always shaved up the neck, not down. But I didn’t care, because I was already on my second Killian’s and knew I had found my beer. No more MGD with Dave and Lou on the back porch back in Roanoke.

I digress.

Melissa Mendez draws up the perfect pour for me

It was Thirsty Thursday at the Green Jackets game and that means $1 drafts. We had group tickets behind home plate with a group of folks I work with when I’m lucky enough to get contracting work. (Mrs. Dan works with them also). We were running late because of Bubba’s funeral and wake. Plus I’m a cheap bastard and made sure we ate 50 cent brats at home before driving around the corner to the game. The last Thirsty Thursday I attended only cost me a few bucks for the beer but the food left me crying in my $1 beer. It’s not as bad as paying an arm, a leg and half a lung at Regal Cinemas for a small popcorn and a drink but without full-time employment I can’t be spending $15 on hotdogs.

I digress.

Former Brave’s pitcher John Smoltz was pitching for the visiting team, a Red Sox affiliate. I can’t even tell you where the team was from. I was there for the beer and the fact that Smoltz was pitching. It was his first pitching start since coming off the DL. We managed to miss the first two innings, per Bubba and the fact I had to hike a mile from where I parked the car. Mix $1 beer and John Smoltz on the mound and you are going to sell some tickets. The place was packed and parking was crazy.

Last season’s Thirsty Thursday’s featured the usual boring “Buschweiser” type beers that are basically worth a buck. I was beside myself when I saw the Killian’s tap on the cooler. I was a bit stunned when I forked out $11 for two large Killian’s for me and Mrs. Dan. “I thought it was $1 beer night.” “That’s way over there” I was told.

There were lots of people standing in line for $5.50 beer. Then I saw the $1 beer line and realized why. You could grow old an die in that line. I already missed 2 innings, I didn’t want to miss an additional 4 innings to spend $1 on a beer about third the size of the one I just bought. I made it to my seat in time to see John Smoltz pitch his third and final inning. He got a standing O when he left the field. I met him years ago taking some photos for the Chronicle leading up to the 1991 World Series. He’s a pretty good guy. Shame the Braves let him go.

I digress.

Waiting in line for an inning+ you realize the most important things, like "You could get beaned in the head", "You aren't gonna get beer for $1" and "if you do, you better get a wristband or your 30 minute wait will be for naught"

It was great sitting in the stands behind home plate watching the Green Jackets maul up the next guy after Smoltz. Killian’s in hand and runners on all three bases. That’s nice. But Mr. Ben was thirsty and wanted a snack so I set out to find some popcorn. It took more than an inning to move through the line (only 6 people were in front of me). I got to talking to a fellow named John who lamented that the Green Jackets should have posted on their web site that they were moving the $1 beer table over to one small area. He said it pretty much made it impossible for anyone who is a baseball fan to enjoy the game and a $1 beer. He also was stuck in this line because they took plastic and he didn’t have cash. When he complained at the food window the server shot back “You want these beers or not!” Not wanting the evening to become a total loss, John apologized and paid his $11 for 2 beers.

I had to agree with him. Thirsty Thursday was pretty much a joke. At least for the baseball fans. For the 20-somethings that are pretty much there for the $1 beer and to be seen by their crowd it was a good evening. For the rest of us… at least the tickets only cost $5 a piece, and we saw John Smoltz pitch. Add in the Killian’s and it beat staying at home, writing a eulogy for a $3 fish.
Brewery: George Killian’s (Coors)
Cost: $5.50

The SweetWater 420 "trout" beer tap handle is wedged in between the Terrapin Pale Ale and the Hoegaarten

I was sitting in “Slices Pizzeria” in downtown Griffin, GA, with my brother, sister-in-law and my 90-year-old mother waiting on a Classic Pizza. This place is “Pizza Joint” with the same tattooed guys tossing the pies and the old brick building feel. The servers don’t have the hip snooty attitude of Pizza Joint but more southern cutie charm. I digress. This is one cool brew on tap. If you live for Bud this ain’t for you. I’ve had StillWater 420 before in a bottle but never on draft (check out the website. They play cool tunes). This was great with the extra salty Classic that we ate. Manager Stacy was kind enough to give me the keg label to see the stats on 420. I think I need a brewery tour since it is brewed just up the road in Atlanta. Hmmmm. she just told about a bottle brew they just got in that no one is brave enough to try. St. Barnardus from Belgum. I might be updating soon.