Hey how did that happen? A new brewery snuck into Georgia and I didn’t hear about it? I must be getting old for such a concern to escape my beerdar, but there you go. There I was at The Beer Growler in Alpharetta, a growler shop with about 30 taps pouring, when The Guy Behind the Counter asked me what kind of beers I liked.

Now, that’s a dangerous question, at least when you ask it of me. The Guy Behind the Counter did, and I did my best to answer him. “Almost all of them,” I replied. To that response The Guy Behind the Counter eyed me with an air of suspicion, but was kind enough to offer me a few samples of lighter bodied beers. He may have considered me a newbie, which given my age I have to question, but hey, it got me a few samples anyway. Then too, The Guy Behind the Counter also sold me a bottle of Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche for two bucks, so he was definitely growing on me.

I had to explain that I was trying to find a beer I hadn’t tried before. That seemed to perplex The Guy Behind the Counter, but it did prompt him to ask me if I had sampled Blue Tarp Bantam Weight Ale, an Irish Red/Amber Ale from the new Blue Tarp Brewery in Decatur, same being the one I had not heard of yet.

Blue Tarp opened in December of 2012 and sells their beer in bars and growler shops in Georgia. Should you happen to be in Decatur, why not stop by the brewery? While you’re there, you would do well to stop in for a beer at the famous Brick Store Pub (they serve Blue Tarp beers); right around the corner is Twain’s Billiards and Tap, an excellent brewpub. Blue Tarp does not seem to have a webpage yet, though they do have a Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/BlueTarpBrewing

As I mentioned, you can buy a growler of Blue Tarp beer at growler stations across Georgia. You can’t buy growlers at the brewery yet, or for that matter, growlers of any brewpub beer in Georgia brewpubs. Not yet anyway. Georgia House Bill 314 aims to change that, and we at bruguru.com wholeheartedly support it. It’s about time Georgia moved ahead in this area to align with so many other states.

Blue Tarp Bantam Weight Ale pours to a bright ruby color with a thick foamy head formation and a sweet stewed-malt nose. I get hints of chocolate and toasted nuts in the palate, some very tasty rich stewed malt and light caramel, burnt caramel, rock candy undertones, and a luscious red delicious apple fruit. The apple and rock candy notes call forth an image of a liquid candy apple. The beer thins a bit in the finish, I think, but is balanced nicely by a gentle but respectable minty hop bitterness.

A good first effort from this brewery, I think. This is a great first beer of the night, or even better a session beer from a growler. The moderate alcohol content of 4.5% by volume make this possible. As the beer warms, the delicate toasted malt and fruit come out more substantially. I very much enjoyed sipping Blue Tarp Bantam Weight Ale on a warm spring evening, and the reasonable $5.99 price for a 32-ounce growler.  

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

(G)=Growler



Home