Red Brick Brewing

Date night is usually every other Friday night for us, and we've started alternating who does the planning and making the arrangements. This past Friday, it was my turn, and I was completely stumped for ideas. Then I remembered a blog post from Beth I saved in my handy-dandy pocket app a few months back. Beth is an avid explorer of Atlanta (she walked the entire beltline in one day - all 19 miles!), and her 65 Date Ideas in Atlanta came to the rescue.
I looked up some brewery tour options around town and settled on Red Brick Brewing as our first stop (dinner at Bocado came next, but that's another post for another day). Their building is buried deep in the Defoors Hills neighborhood of Northwest Atlanta, and the location is perfect. Outside they have games of cornhole going, barbecue grilling, a live band playing, and picnic tables around the front entrance for everyone to chill and enjoy the atmosphere.   The inside is full of character, and for only $12, you get a tour, 6 "tasting" tickets (their tasting sizes equate to a full glass of beer) (needless to say we failed to use all 6 tickets) (but we'll be back), and a take-home souvenir glass.

As far as the tour goes, it's really a behind the scenes peek at how their beer is made. We didn't do much walking, but there was plenty of information shared about beer. I learned so much! Like what's the difference between a lager and an ale: they use different kinds of yeast. Ales ferment in about two weeks; lagers take about two months. I learned when the when the hops and malt enter the process, how/when carbonation is added, and more.
Oh, and the beer? That's the best part. My favorite is the Hibiscwit. It's an ale with grapefruit and other citrus notes, and it was delicious. Delicious! The Hoplanta was also great. After trying those two, the warm and fuzzies hit, so I stopped there. I'm not a big fan of intoxication, and I (we) wanted to enjoy every bit of dinner, which I (we) did. Before this, I wasn't a huge beer fan, but I may be looking to convert soon if I can find more fruit infused variations. We'll see.
Definitely give Red Brick Brewing a visit if you're looking for something slightly off-beat to try around Atlanta. They're only open until 8pm on Friday nights, and they close even earlier every other night of the week. Not a late-night dive-y spot, which was right up our alley!
♥