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| At Josher's House |
Assignment: Be in Atlanta for a trade show by noon tomorrow. Drive custom made beer-mobile that is currently sitting in Orlando. Take two of your drinking buddies to help out. Must leave by 3:30 in the morning to arrive at trade show on time.
The trade show in question was the Georgia Crown Distributing's Holiday Trade Show. It was held in a Greek Orthodox Church just outside Atlanta and well on the way to Decatur, home of my favorite beer bar. In fact Decatur is home of many great bars, restaurants, and houses of alcohol legend. The problem is not getting to Atlanta on time. It's not pouring out the wonderfully balanced Orange Blossom Pilsner, the rich and luscious OBP Squared, or the roasty Toasted Coconut Porter. The problem is not staying sober enough to navigate a strange town. The problem is not the fear of being let down by our night out in Decatur. The problem for me is - talking myself into returning home from one of the coolest towns I've ever been to. If you've never been to Decatur, GET THERE!!
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| First fuel stop in Ocala |
As I said, we left at 3:30 am, which allowed me about 4 hours of sleep. Not bad, and I know I can easily get by on that allotment. I picked Josher and Bobert up at Joshers and we got on the road. I drove the first half of the trip and we agreed that Bobert would get us into Atlanta. Josher's job was to fall alseep in the car and become a vessel for us sticking giant okra in his mouth while he was sleeping. It was great fun, indeed, and well worth losing a driver.
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| People rolling in...... |
Thanks to some well-timed traffic misses we arrived an hour early and were able to check into the hotel to freshen up before we headed on to the trade show. Tom put us up in a badass Courtyard by Marriott which was recently renovated. The room was awesome and we eventually drew straws to see who got the bed, the pullout, and the floor. I drew the bed and that is all that matters....
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| Our Booth. Looks good, no? |
The trade show was great and they estimated about 450 people showed, all of which were in the bar/restaurant biz in some capacity. Most of those in attendance had seen the OBP and were very curious about the Toasted Coconut. It was a tremendous hit. The key in this situation is to see how many people come back for more or how many bring their friends. If you have a ton of people coming back to show your product to their buddies, you know you have a winner.
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| A Storeroom at the Brick Store. Yes, that's pancetta!! |
After the show, it was time to go out in Decatur. As I said, my favorite beer bar, The Brickstore, is located here and I had been bragging on it to Josher and Bobert for quite some time. We arrived and were set to meet some business prospects, so we asked for a table for six. They have a Belgian Room upstairs and we were put in e of the best seats in the house in the back of the Belgian Room. We had a view of the entire room and I can't even begin to tell you how cozy this room is.
Beer Advocate Magazine rated this place the #2 Beer Bar in the World (my own Abbey was #16 in 2008) and rates it an A+ with 178 reviews. Their selection is so vast, you could get wasted here for an entire year and never drink the same thing twice!! But it's the atmosphere that takes it to the nest level. To the left is the link to their website and I would definitely recommend checking it out if you're in the area.
We had some drinks at the Brick Store with Charlie from C2 Imports and the four of us headed to another bar owned by the Brick Store folks, Leon's Full Service. This bar was once a gas station that they renovated into an upscale yet accessible restaurant/bar. We were full so we didn't eat although I've heard great things about their food. I was budgeting my drinking (since I had to drive back to the hotel) so I couldn;t drink much. If we were walking back, i would have gotten trashed on their list of classic cocktails, including the Sazerac and the Sidecar. Would have LOVED to have been able to spend hours here. Check out their website to the right.
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| Josher at the saltwater tank |
After Leo's came Twain's. Another great bar that I hadn't been to in years. They make their own brew in house and as it turns out had live jazz that night. The atmosphere at Twain's is wonderfully eclectic, working as a pool hall, restaurat, hockey bar, and brewpub. It was nice to see that all walks of life feel at home here, a factor that is always encouraging to me on a human level. I had their cask raspberry porter, which was delicious. The guys ordered some Tripels and a Saison, all of which were fantastic. This place never disappoints and at this point I was wondering if Josher was not just going to stay and Decatur and leave us to drive home alone.
After some business talk we left for our last stop, Taco Mac. A well-known chain that always has a great beer selection, Taco Mac has seen great success over the years and we had the pleasure of having a great bartender who kept carrying some delicious smelling fajitas past us which made me wish I was hungry.
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| Bobert using his head |
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| Josher using his head |
Anyway, the beer menu at Taco Mac is exceptional, especially on the draft level, and they have the clout to have some breweries make limited releases strictly for their outlets. This allows their customers to have something that they know they will ever see again, a beautiful trophy for dedicated beer drinkers. I always enjoy the Taco Mac atmosphere (although a tad corporate compared to the rest) and I got into a great conversation with Charlie over the evolution of Stella Artois in the United States and the effects it has had on the Heineken brand.
We scurried back to the hotel and the movie Unstoppable was on HBO. We watched the movie and drifted to sleep. On the road in the morning and have to get the car back to Tom before 5:00.
Exit 164(?) on I-75 in Georgia is the site of the well-advertised "Strippers: Need We Say More" lounge. They spend as much money on advertising as South of the Border does and the actual building suggests that it spends more on advertising than capital improvements. We stopped by to take pictures simply for the "Americana" of it all. No time to stop in, however, as we have more important matters at hand...............
Exit 164(?) on I-75 in Georgia is the site of the well-advertised "Strippers: Need We Say More" lounge. They spend as much money on advertising as South of the Border does and the actual building suggests that it spends more on advertising than capital improvements. We stopped by to take pictures simply for the "Americana" of it all. No time to stop in, however, as we have more important matters at hand...............
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