If you happen to find yourself in Blue Ridge, Georgia, and you happen to love beer, well my friends you are in luck. There’s lots to do in Blue Ridge, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, from outdoor hiking to zip lining to camping to shopping and-oh yes- beer drinking! Blue Ridge has three breweries tucked into this cozy little mountain town, and lots of good restaurants and beer bars to boot. One of the breweries, The Blue Ridge Brewery, is a brewpub and a darned good one at that.
The Blue Ridge Brewery has the added benefit of having a Bed and Breakfast right next door, and as all the pubs and breweries are in walking distance, you might want to consider that. I was pondering it over The Blood Brown Ale, a nifty little name for a beer if ever there was one.
The Blue Ridge Brewery offers a generous menu as well as an array of guest beers, too. You can check them out on the chalkboard next to the bar, or just ask your server as I did. Pints run about $5 or you can get a sampler flight of four 4-ounce samples for $7. My server added the two other house beers at no extra charge.
Blue Ridge Brewery doesn’t name all of its beers as they do with The Blood, but I did enjoy a tasty Kolsch, Porter, Oatmeal Milk Stout along with “My IPA” and Moonlight Tripel. We sat out in their back patio area as it was a fine spring day and enjoyed our drinks in the warm weather.
My glass of Blue Ridge Brewery The Blood Brown Ale arrived a medium mahogany brown in color with a thin film of head and a distinctly nutty malty nose. Taking a sip, the beer had a delightful soft cookie malt character, was slightly nutty as the nose implied with a hint of chocolate. The beer finished balanced with a kiss of grassy hops to balance the malt sweetness.
This was a classic English brown ale/mild, and as I love these beers it was one of my favorites here (although the tripel was very impressive as well). No ABV was given but it seemed somewhere in the 4% to 5% range to me. It’s a beer one could easily enjoy pint after pint of before retiring to the bed and breakfast across the street. Or wherever it is you’re going.
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