Brewery Visits

BEERCATION 2022 – GEORGETOWN BREWING – WASHINGTON

Between flights Hoppy was able to visit Georgetown Brewing in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle, WA. He had met the founders Manny Chou and Roger Bialous in 2003, a few months after they opened in a small portion of a building that was formerly home to the original Rainier Brewery. (They have since moved to a much larger facility, also in Georgetown.) When Hoppy met them, for beer samples, he asked them if they might be coming out with an IPA anytime soon, but they said no, as many other breweries were offering IPAs at the time. Hoppy is happy that they now offer a number of IPAs throughout the year!

Their Bodhizafa IPA won the gold medal at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival (GABF), and Johnny Utah Pale Ale won gold at the 2019 GABF! Their Manny’s Pale Ale is only sold on draft and can be found at over 900 bars and restaurants in Seattle and 7.7 pints are consumed each minute, which means every 7.8 seconds someone drinks a pint of Manny’s! (For a limited time during COVID, Manny’s was available in cans, as a fundraiser for bar and restaurant workers in Washington State and it raised a total of $412,000 on their behalf.)

While at Georgetown, Hoppy enjoyed a Bodhizafa IPA. It is described as getting its light silky texture from rolled oats. The flavor and aroma both express mandarin and citrus all around. Over five pounds of hops per barrel makes this IPA truly Bodhilicious. It is brewed with Chinook, Citra, Mosaic and Columbus Hops. 6.9% ABV; 80 IBU

BEERCATION 2022 – NEW SOUTH BREWING – SOUTH CAROLINA

Hoppy also visited New South Brewing, in Myrtle Beach, while in South Carolina. They opened in November,1998 and currently brew on a 20-barrel brewhouse and produce around 3,000 barrels annually.  During Hoppy’s visits he sampled the following beers before choosing his usual Dirty Myrtle:

India Pale Ale – A copper color and assertive hop bitterness characterize this pale ale. 6.2% ABV

Obi-Wan Khubani – A sour-fruited beer with apricot puree and mad midichhlorians (lol) added. 7.2% ABV

Java the Nut – New South’s Nut Brown Ale aged on a rich blend of Peruvian and El Salvadoran coffee beans roasted by Rivertown Roasters in Conway, SC. 4.8% ABV

Dark Star Porter – Rich black ale with a sweet but roasty malt flavor and a lingering hop finish. 6.2% ABV

Big Wooly Mammoth (2022) – An Imperial/Double Stout. 10.5% ABV

So Dirty – A Dirty Myrtle with blood orange. 8.9% ABV

and of course, Dirty Myrtle – An Imperial/Double IPA packed ridiculously full of Mosaic, Simcoe and Falconers Flight Hops. 8.9% ABV

BEERCATION 2022 – CHARLES TOWNE FERMENTORY – SOUTH CAROLINA

Two locations of Charles Towne Fermentory were Hoppy’s next visits in Charleston. Between these locations he sampled the following libations:

Sungazer IPA – a soft, dry, hazy IPA loaded with Citra & Motueka hops. 6.8% ABV

Summer Greens Wet-Hop IPA ’22 – hopped with fresh Strata hops. 6.8% ABV

DDH Sungazer IPA – pillowy citrus with just a touch of zest. 6.8% ABV

Extra Sunny DIPA w/Nelson – described as Sungazer’s big brother dry-hopped to death with Nelson Sauvin hops for a healthy dose of sweet fruit and gooseberry notes. 8.2% ABV

Charles Towne Fermentory has an overall rating of 4.06 on Untappd.

The following images are from the Charles Towne Brewery/Tap Room:

The following images are from The Garden: A Tap Room/Beer Garden of Charles Towne Fermentory:

BEERCATION 2022 – SOUTHERN HOPS BREWING – SOUTH CAROLINA

While in Murrells Inlet Hoppy also visited Southern Hops Brewing’s recently opened second location. (Their original location is in Florence.) Here he enjoyed a 5 Points IPA which is brewed utilizing five different hops. This version clocked in at 6.7% ABV.

BEERCATION 2022 – FRONT STREET BREWERY – NORTH CAROLINA

The final brewery that Hoppy visited in North Carolina was Front Street Brewery in Wilmington. The historic building that it is located in began as a dry goods store in 1865. Front Street opened in 1995, as the first brewery in the city. As well as being a brewery/restaurant, they carry an extensive collection of bourbons and other whiskeys.

While here Hoppy quaffed a flight of the following ales:

Port City IPA – Wilmington’s original IPA since 1995, is a hybrid of West Coast and New England styles: bold, citrusy, and juicy at first, but finishing dry and refreshing with notes of pine. 6.9% ABV

Black Razz House Blend – high notes of real Raspberry wheat played against the mocha depths of chocolatey Scottish ale. 6.2% ABV

Tomb Rocker Heather Ale – an incomparably smooth complex ale bursting with flavor including vinous notes of red wine, tangy cherry, honey, delicate flowers and herbs, and old-fashioned candy. 9.2% ABV

That Kind of Jive Blueberry Sour Wheat – a sour wheat fermented with lactic yeast, conditioned on vanilla extract from End of Days Distillery, plus copious blueberry puree. 5.1% ABV

Dr. Purple Barrel-Aged Sour – brewed with a mind-blowing amount of tangy purple blackcurrant juice and aged in oak barrels for three years for a perfect sour depth and complexity. 5.8%

BEERCATION 2022 – BROUWERIJ CURSUS KEME – NORTH CAROLINA

Hoppy’s next brewery visit in Asheville was at Cursus Keme. Here he went back to his hop roots and imbibed a Cat Mummy Double IPA at 8.1% ABV.