Best Atlanta Beer/Local Brew

Monday Night Brewing is a leader of innovation and productivity in the local beer industry, between the IPA-centric Black Tie Series pouring out of the West Midtown Hop Hut, and the newish Monday Night Garage barrel-aging program. In the last year alone, Monday Night has brewed more than 100 of some of the best beers in the city. Weekends are overrated! (Courtesy of Alex Patton). less...

Perhaps the most-talked-about craft beer trend of 2017 was the New England-style India Pale Ale. An easy-drinking riff on craft’s most popular style, NE IPAs prioritize tantalizing hop aromas and juicy flavor profiles over bitterness and the “hoppy” wallop generally associated with IPAs. Wrecking Bar’s one-off JUICE WILLIS IPA SERIES — which the Little Five Points brewpub started in January — has been a joy to behold in that regard. They’ve released a new beer every few weeks (nine variations and counting at press time), each time adding new recipe tweaks and a new Bruce Willis pun for the name. It’s rare to see a local beer that’s so on trend, delicious and admirably exemplifying brewing innovation all at once. Check @wreckingbarbrewpub on Instagram for the latest batch. Wrecking Bar Brewpub, 292 Moreland Ave. N.E. 404-221-2600. www.wreckingbarbrewpub.com. less...

It started as a draft-only, taproom-only member of Three Tavern Brewery’s Sour Asylum series. Lacto-fermented and matured on fresh raspberry purée, slightly tart and sporting a highly sessionable alcohol-by-volume (5 percent), RAPTUROUS quickly became a favorite of the Decatur beermaker’s tours. With more requests for the beer came more beer, and with more beer came a proper market release that brought glasses of the pink deliciousness to various watering holes all over the Atlanta metro area. These days, it’s not uncommon to find it at hip, varied restaurants and bars like Chai Pani, Argosy, and Gaja. Better still, Creative Loafing’s best new beer of 2016 started showing up in cans this August. Pro-tip: Those cans pair exceedingly well with the final dregs of the Georgia summer. less...

We’ve always been proud of our local bottled beers, it’s just that there’s so few of them. Well that’s beginning to change, starting with Wild Heaven, a new brewery from Nick Purdy. Along with consulting brewmaster Eric Johnson, Wild Heaven has so far released two beers: Invocation, a Belgian-style golden ale, and Ode to Mercy, an Imperial Brown Ale. Try a glass of the deep, bitter toffee-tinged Ode to Mercy with a stinky cheese, or the slightly fruity and spicy Invocation with roast pork or chicken. wildheavencraftbeers.com. less...

Glenn Sprouse’s love of beer came from his childhood visits to Germany. After he became an engineer, he began to brew his own beer in an effort to replicate what he’d drank there as a kid. Now the brewmaster at 5 SEASONS BREWING in Sandy Springs, Sprouse has parlayed his love for European beer into a career. Behind the bar is an open window that looks onto several of the huge copper vats where Sprouse works his magic. Our favorites are the 7 Sisters Munchner, which is bittersweet and packs a punch of flavor, and the Big O, an organic ale that’s rich and robust with a lightly sweet flavor that comes from caramel malt. less...