I Spent Six Hours Driving a Three-Hour Trip, so You Get This

When Dogwood closed a few years ago, I was worried the production brewery scene in Georgia would go stale. Don't get me wrong, Atlanta Brewing had turned their act around and started making very good beer and Sweetwater was always a reliable source for good craft beer, but neither brewery did much to shake up their lineup. Their offerings were pretty much the same every year.

Luckily, both breweries moved into different digs, and apparently the change in scenery spurred some new bursts of creativity for both breweries. Sweetwater recently dedicated an entire tank (The Dank Tank) just to experiment with new recipes.

I was happy to see that The Creeper, Sweetwater's current Dank Tank offering, was still available at the Kennesaw Taco Mac when I visited with Courtney and Mickey last night. The beer pours a clear gold with a small head (possibly the product of the bar's pouring practices). There's a sweet honey malt, slight yeasty funk, and a mild American hoppiness. It covers the alcohol content well and is probably a little too drinkable for its size. This doesn't match up to the best examples of the style, in my opinion, but it's definitely a welcome change of pace for the decidedly American-style brewery.

As for Atlanta Brewing, they promoted their old Winter Ale to year-round status and replaced it with a new Belgian-style strong ale. This is also definitely worth the sample and, unlike The Creeper, you can buy this one in a four-pack of bottles in the better liquor stores that carry Atlanta Brewing products.

And if you still miss Dogwood Brewing (I sure do), just go visit 5 Seasons North in Alpharetta or Twains in Decatur. The former features Crawford Moran, Dogwood's owner, and the latter features one of Moran's brewer's from Dogwood's glory days.