Thursday 5th of September 2013 01:29:18 PM

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The second time (the first is another story) I fell in love with a Georgia beer was at the Local Republic in Lawrenceville and someone told me I had to try this wit beer. The subtle ginger was what did it, it crept in slowly and made for the perfect summer brew. I discovered it was produced by a small craft brewery in Atlanta called Monday Night Brewing and was styled as a belgian wit called Fu Manbrew. It had recently won Gold at the 2013 US Beer Open in the Belgian Witbier category and quickly became my go-to summer beer.

When we moved back to the Georgia area last April I was anxious to see how the craft beer ‘scene’ was developing here in comparison to the DC area where we had spent the last 9 years, and quickly learned that it has been under some serious growth since the early to mid-2000s. I started planning brewery visits as soon as I got the whole work thing situated. I finally made it out to Monday Night Brewing last Monday night (when else would you make your maiden visit?) and was impressed with the brewery space and the brewers themselves. Jonathan Baker (Marketing Guy and Master of Mind Control) gave a great tour of the brewery and expounded on their passion for beer and brewing citing their 5 main ingredients for making beer: water, yeast, malt, hops, and love!

Monday Night was founded in 2006 and brewed under contract (standard for burgeoning breweries) by Thomas Creek Brewery out of South Carolina. The brewery itself didn’t have a physical location until 2012 when they acquired a spacious 20,000 square feet building at 670 Trabert Ave. in NW, Atlanta. There, they brewed their first batch of beer in January 2013 and opened their doors for public tours and tastings. Aside from the—somewhat—strange hanging mannequin that greets you at the door, the space is a fantastic place to meet friends, enjoy a game of cornhole, and drink some phenomenal beers. The bar has two approach points, one inside and one outside, which makes getting that next taste of beer a snap. There is plenty of seating inside and out and there is usually a food vendor on premise to help you curb your appetite. I really love the simple graphical style of the labeling, the logo, and the decor Monday Night uses, it definitely helps you locate it in the fridge at the store and gives the brewery a great, present day feel.

I look forward to my next visit to Monday Night and wish I lived closer so I could make it a regular outing! You definitely need to put it on your bucket list for Georgia craft breweries.