{Publik Draft House}: Your Beer On Tap

See more of my visit to Publik Draft House

In the early hours of a cold December morning, Eddie and his bar manager are already hard at work preparing for patrons of the Publik Draft House in downtown Atlanta. Despite his full schedule, Eddie pulls up stool to chat about The Great Southern Craft Beer Competition and his reasons for partnering with Monday Night Brewing.

A dabbler in homebrew himself, Eddie understands the hard work and craftsmanship that go into producing something competition worthy. "I've tried home brewing. I really appreciate how hard it is. The hand-crafted consistency. I've made a mess of it myself, so it really amazes me when someone can produce something quality over and over."

For Eddie, it's also about building stronger ties to his community. "If it weren't for the locals, we wouldn't be doing well. The locals make us. And although we've got the peach on our license plates, and all that, I don't know if I believe it. This sense of living local. There's local food here from farmers that we can't get. There are local beers I'd like to have on tap that aren't available. I want to have my restaurant reflect my community and give people a taste of home. The homebrew competition is part of that."

And in a little over two weeks, Eddie is going to get his wish. Monday Night Brewing will host a kickoff party to celebrate locally made beer and food.

Scheduled for January 19th, the kickoff event is open to the public. The tickets (a cost of $25) will buy you a souvenir pint glass, and free access to the event, including complimentary food, entertainment, and the chance to win a variety of prizes. Attendees will also receive 6 complimentary tastings of Monday Night Brewing beer, brewery tours and beer-based food pairings. To purchase tickets visit: www.greatsouthernbeercompetition.com. 

About the homebrew competition
The entry period for the Great Southern Craft Beer Competition begins January 19 and runs through March 15, 2014. Applicants must submit six bottles of their specialty home brew along with an entry fee of $10 per brew. There is no limit to the number of entries that may be submitted. The “Best in Show” winner will be selected by a panel of four judges and announced in April, winning the prize of distribution for one year in P.D.H. and $1,000.

Those interested in the Great Southern Craft Beer Competition celebration event or competition can visit www.greatsouthernbeercompetition.com or connect at www.twitter.com/BeerDownSouth. 

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Top 10 Moments {My First Year in Craft Beer}

I did something really hard, you guys. I made you a list. It was hard, but I did it. FOR YOU. This list is by no means a complete record of all the salsa dancin', sunscreen lovin', ice cream eating wonderfulness that occurred in the last year. But ya know--brevity. It's not my strong suit.

My first year in craft beer has been sort of epic. On the one hand, there have been some grand beer-related failures... like that one time I thought I'd brew a beer with beets (let's not bring that up at the dinner table, shall we?).

On the other hand? I'm just completely freaking blown away by the amazing bloggity-beer goodness that this inaugural year has entailed. Because for real you guys, I sort of only do this because I'm obsessive and neurotic and have a habit of talking to myself... something like that. You too, right? I promise, I can stop writing about beer annnny time I want. 

Seriously though, it's been an amazing whirlwind of a year. And although I'm not always certain of the "why" when it comes to figuring out what I'm doing with this precious little life of mine, I'm pretty sure craft beer was destined to be a part of it.

Without further ado, here they are, in the exact order that they came to mind, the BEST ten(ish) moments from the first year of HB.

1. The day Annie gave me her direct line.

2. The day they let me put radishes in the beer.

3. That one Monday, after hours, I spent sipping homebrew.

4. The afternoon I went to two Atlanta bars in one day.

5. The one time I got up close and personal with a box of wet hops.

6. The day I met the Duchess and interviewed a good friend.

7. The afternoon I got to spend photographing whiskey barrels.

8. The night craft beer gave me a taste of family.

9. The day I realized we're not an anomaly, but we are worth talking about.

10. Getting to witness so much amazing, positive press about women in the craft beer industry.

My list of most anticipated moments for 2014 is getting longer by the minute so it's time to toast the successful transfer of eggs to the fridge, or crack open that single-wide IPA for another round of research, or just, ya know, fold some laundry or something. Your pick. Until next time, my lovelies, I hope your glass is full, and your heart is open, and your passions are pouring just right.

Cheers!
hb

{Update} with Sarah of Wild Heaven

As we inch ever closer to the new year I'm checking in with the ladies who made this first year of features a success. Here's what Wild Heaven Sarah had to say when I asked her for an update...

New developments…
In my personal life, I got engaged. At work, we are finally on the road to opening up in Avondale Estates! Major plumbing, trench drain, and some tile flooring went in most recently. It's really coming along well, and on-schedule. I'm confident we'll be open by early Spring 2014. Stay tuned to our Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram for updates. We're so excited about the progress that we can't help but post about it as it's happening real-time.

New brew loves? Old favorites?

I have to say our Ode to Mercy Special Winter Ale turned out quite well this year but that's too easy!

{Update} with Erin Lundmark of Jekyll Brewing

As we inch ever closer to the new year I'm checking in with the ladies who made this first year of features a success. Here's what Erin Lundmark had to say when I asked her for an update...

So, update. What's happened since we last checked in with you? Any new developments on the beer horizon?

Well, Jekyll Brewing opened in August. We've been very successful and well received. I'm doing all the sales, marketing, and special events. It's a full load, but it's a labor of love. As for new developments, we're finally at the point of being able to play around and make some fun stuff. Most of them will only be in the tap room for a bit, but we'll see what happens with them. We've got a Smoked Porter pouring right now, and a Foreign Export Stout that each of the brewers has taken a 1/6 barrel of and played with.

{Update} with Hops Diva: A Lady Who Loves Beer

As we inch ever closer to the new year I'm checking in with the ladies who made this first year of features a success. Here's what Hops Diva had to say when I asked her for an update... 

What's happened since we last checked in with you? 

In the last month, I’ve helped coordinate a beer festival, went to the GALS Christmas party/bottle exchange and attended the Summit's Wayside Tavern Georgia Brewer's Dinner at the Cumming and Snellville locations. Needless to say my liver and I have been busy.

Since you last checked in back in May, I wrangled volunteers for HOToberfest and the Wrecking Bar Brewpub's Strong Beer Festival, I attended my second GABF, I was a judge at SweetWater Brewing Company's Brew Your Cask Off for the third year and I started brewing!

Innagural Strong Beer {Festivities}

click here to view more

It was a day of firsts staged to celebrate and raise funds for The Georgia Craft Brewer's Guild who are hard at work lobbying for changes to GA alcohol codes, most notably HB314.

If passed, the revised legislation would allow breweries and brewpubs to sell limited amounts of beer from their establishments for customers to take home (which under current law is illegal). For obvious reasons, both the craft beer consumer and the brewers of said beers are clamoring for change.

{Update} with Sande Edwards: A Lady Who Loves Beer

As we inch ever closer to the new year I'm checking in with some of the ladies who made this first year of features a success.

I reached out to Sande Edwards, who has continued to entrench herself in the local Atlanta craft beer scene, to see if she'd be interested in speaking about her recent involvement with the Georgia Craft Brewer's Guild. Not only has she taken on the task of managing the social media for GCBG, but she's also been hard at work building her own presence on the web with her blog BeerHeadATL (check it out).

With Sande's help, GCBG has partnered with HeyBrewtiful to offer memberships directly through our site (see the ad top right). In exchange, they've offered me one year of free member benefits. Isn't that dandy? I admit, I did a jig.

AND I immediately bought tickets to the upcoming inaugural Strong Beer Fest at Wrecking Bar coming this Saturday, December 7th. Become of member of GCBG today and your ticket is only $20 with a special promo code!

See what else Sande had to say when I asked her for an update.