If you head down to Atlanta’s Little Five Points area, just a few miles from downtown, you certainly can’t say that you have a shortage of places to get a good brew. The Vortex has been a well-respected local beer bar for decades, and just a few years ago the highly regarded Porter Beer Bar opened here as well. In April of 2011 beer drinkers’ choices became even greater with the opening of the Wrecking Bar Brewpub, the first establishment in the area to make its own beer.

The Wrecking Bar is located in an old Victorian mansion built in 1900. Several well-to-do families called the mansion home over the decades, though in 1970 it was zoned commercial and became “Wrecking Bar Architectural Antiques”. That company closed its doors in 2005, but what better tribute to the Wrecking Bar than to replace it with, well, a Wrecking Bar?

And so the brewpub was born. Recently, I paid the Wrecking bar a visit on a cool fall Saturday afternoon to sample their brew. The Wrecking Bar was quiet when I arrived and remains so during much of my visit.  In pleasant weather, one can enjoy a beer out on the patio, though I took shelter from the elements in the cozy interior. I immediately fell in love with the cozy, homey rear of the place, furnished as it is with sofas, easy chairs, and end tables. Copies of Bill Yenne’s Beers of the World and Michael Jackson’s World Guide to Beer are available for your reading pleasure.

I ordered a sampler of beers, six four-ounce glasses for $6. Wheelie Popper Kolsch was clean, golden, and malty; WB Abbey Dubbel yeasty and chocolaty; The Victor IPA chewy and bursting with hop aroma and bitterness; Acca Dacca Blacka Black IPA deep, dark, and hoppy; and Jemmy Stout rich and roasty with chocolate and licorice, an impressive brew of 7% strength.

My favorite of these, however, was the Alted State Sticke, and I ordered a pint of this after enjoying the sampler. “Sticke” or “secret” Altbier is bigger, bolder version of Dusseldorfer Altbier, said to be reserved only for a brewery’s best customers. The Wrecking Bar, of course, makes no secret of its Sticke, proclaiming its availability prominently on a sign with all the other available brews as soon as you enter.

My pint of The Wrecking Bar Brewpub Alted State Sticke arrived a glowing dark brown color with a light creamy head formation and an enticingly nutty Munich malt nose. A grand dark sweet nutty malt wave washed over my tongue when I took a sip, very clean and chocolaty, beautiful toasty as well. The finish was nicely dried by a pleasant grassy, herbal hop aroma and a long but gentle bitterness.

This was truly a soft malty delight, a beer I can’t lionize highly enough. My 4-ounce sample went extremely well with a rich, warming bowl of Beer and Cheese Soup, while my pint paired divinely with a Hot Pastrami Sandwich bursting with tender pastrami, Cole slaw, whole grain mustard, and Muenster Cheese on chewy rye bread. A side of German Potato Salad, tart with vinegar and loaded with onions and bacon, was delight as well.

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



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