Go ahead and get merry and bright with these fun events at breweries or involving beer or spirits, or drown your yuletide sorrows due to being with family nonstop for weeks on end. Either way, these events will make your holidays a treat.

NOVEMBER

November 5
Hops & Flow Beer Yoga
@ Eventide Brewing

Eventide Brewing’s lovely Grant Street taproom plays host to a fun, healthy (and beery) good time when it hosts its Hops & Flow Beer Yoga. Admission is $15 and includes the yoga class and your first beverage. The event page recommends you bring a mat, a towel and some water, but notes that the event is open to all levels of yoga enthusiast – from neophyte to expert. So stretch out and practice some “downward-drinking dog” at Eventide, getting healthy while enjoying a nice pint.

Distillery of Modern Art (DOMA) is a bit of a chimera: part art gallery, part distillery and part cocktail lounge and event space, stylishly packed in a 15,000-square-foot warehouse space in Chamblee. The parts combine for a totally original package that should be on any Atlantan’s radar.

DOMA, which opened earlier this year, is the culmination of founder Seth Watson’s passion for spirits (especially whiskey), and more than two decades of experience in design and event production.

“I saw an opportunity to do something on a more elevated basis that took what I was passionate about – those being spirits, hospitality and art – and trying to meld those pieces together,” Watson said. “Being so involved with artists for my entire career, I saw a hole of support for local art. A lot of these situations where local artists get involved or artists from all around the world, it’s always a financial transaction scenario. And what I desperately wanted to do is give back to an artist community that had supported me in my business for so long with ideas and collaboration.”

Atlanta Botanical Garden

It’s 4:58pm on a Friday afternoon and you’re all out of date night ideas. No need to fret, just ask Alexa to tell your Tesla to navigate towards Piedmont Park, where you’ll find the Atlanta Botanical Garden adjacent.

Designed to evoke “oohs,” “ahs,” and hugely ‘grammable moments, this bastion of ATL extracurricular overtures features seasonal events, like its annual Christmas lights display, guaranteed to have your significant other writing you a coupon for a free backrub. Tickets run $20 - $35.

Cap it off with a stroll through Piedmont Park, a veritable Rodeo Drive for canine fashion, and see if you can complete a scavenger hunt of every official American Kennel Club breed.

Putt Shack

Putt Shack is a hole-in-one for any ATLien hoping for a fun night out. Brainchild of Adam Breeden (All Star Lanes, AceBounce, Flight Club) and brothers Steven and Dave Jolliffe (Topgolf), Puttshack is designed to elevate the minigolf experience – all the accessible fun and trash talking combined with the glory of seamless, modern technology.

McCray’s Tavern East Cobb is a state-of-the-art “elevated pub” where guests can enjoy 27 draft beers, five exclusive draft cocktails, and global cuisine while watching their favorite teams. This winter, guests are welcome for game days, holiday parties and seasonal drinks like hot buttered rum.

“We’re about friends serving friends. Since we opened in August 2020, we've become the neighborhood ‘Cheers.’” Guests can watch everything - baseball, basketball, soccer and even special televised events – indoors or on our covered, heated patio,” said Nicole Swofford, events and beverage manager.

This winter, McCray’s Tavern East Cobb will offer ales that “bring in warmth and spice” from several local breweries, including Creature Comforts Brewing Co., Dry County Brewing Co., Ironshield Brewing, New Realm Brewing, Pontoon Brewing, Reformation Brewery and Scofflaw Brewing Co. The tavern will also offer winter beers from major producers such as SweetWater and The Boston Beer Co.

Today, businesses that once constituted the heart of a community are being flooded out by a swollen Amazon. Despite being one of the world’s oldest professions, how many of us have a local butcher we can count on to slice and dice quality meats to an exacting standard? Enter New York Butcher Shoppe – an oasis of fresh meats, gourmet and specialty cheeses, wines and more in the heart of urban ATL.

Founded in 1999 by Billy D’Elia and family in the deli Mecca of Brooklyn, New York, the outfit quickly migrated to Mt. Pleasant, SC – an area distinctly lacking in quality full-service butcher shops. It didn’t take long for business partners and repeat customers Jim Tindal and Todd Prochaska to recognize a perfect franchise model, and the pair began expanding NY Butcher Shoppe throughout South Carolina and into the southeast.

“Our leadership vision is simple. To be the best butcher shop possible through second-to-none customer service and to be the place that people think of when they want a great home meal with family and friends,” the duo claims on their website.

Golda Kombucha

Kombucha scion Melanie Wade founded Georgia's first sparkling kombucha company in 2013 with a recipe inspired by her grandmother, Golda, who perfected her recipe in Blue Ridge for over 40 years. Today, Golda Kombucha's oak barrel-aged teas are available on tap, in ready-to-drink bottles, and in growlers at dozens of restaurants, bars and grocers throughout the Southeast, including in over 100 Kroger supermarkets and in several Whole Foods Markets.

Kava Mama

Kava Mama is Atlanta's top producer of kava, a relaxing tea made from the root of pepper plant Piper Methysticum, safely consumed by the people of Polynesia, Micronesia and Hawaii for 3,000 years. Renowned for its relaxing, calming and focusing effects said to reduce stress, anxiety and muscle tension, kava has exploded in popularity. Kava Mama sources its ingredients from Vanuatu, Fiji and Papua New Guinea and prepares Atlanta's finest kava in the heart of downtown, where it is available to purchase from the company’s headquarters.

Warm weather is in the rearview and cool temperatures abound – winter is right around the corner, bringing with it all of the fun family get-togethers and “friendsgivings” that make the holiday season joyful.

Speaking of joy, beer is one thing that we’re thankful for during the holiday months of November and December and the lovely selections in this issue are what we’ve been imbibing recently as we head into the holiday season. So, if you’re a beer fan in Georgia these seasonal selections are sure to keep your holidays merry and bright and your glassware full of high-quality craft beer in a bevy of styles.

Read on to explore What We’re Drinking Now during the holiday months of 2022!

BUY ON DRIZLY

Anchor Christmas Ale – Rated 88

Anchor Brewing Co.
San Francisco, CA

There is always something newsworthy taking place in the beer industry. That's why we dedicate Monday of each week to publishing the top stories from the previous week in our Industry News e-newsletter. Here you'll find a compilation of all the news we've covered since the last issue, with links to the full stories.

Industry & People

Big Boss Brewing Co. Partners with Bevana

We saddled up with the masterminds behind the highest rated brews and asked them about the inspiration behind the recipes. Follow the links below to the individual Q & A's, or you may access Q & A's from all editions here.

Holiday 2022, Issue 63

Brauerei Göller Braumeister Felix Göller Talks Göller Dunkel

Judging Process
Our reviews are conducted in a single-blind tasting format. This method provides the best opportunity to rely on facts and to avoid favoritism, insuring a level playing field for all brewers. It serves both the industry and the consumer to have unbiased and objective scores from qualified experts. To best implement this approach, the Judges Review is open to those with established experience as a Master Cicerone® from the Cicerone® Certification Program or as a judge that has accomplished the rank of National or higher from the Beer Judge Certification Program. In the single-blind tasting format, judges are presented with a chilled, properly poured beer and given its style category. Scoring is then done on the following basis using a 100-point scale: