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Owen Ogletree's
Monthly Brewtopia Brewsletter
March 30, 2025
Owen is founder/editor of Brewtopia.info, a group beer trip organizer, columnist for Southern Brew News, lecturer at Knoxville's Brewing & Distilling Center, founder of the Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting, and a BJCP National Beer Judge.
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Follow our craft beer adventures...
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- Get to Savannah, Georgia to Taste These 10 Remarkable Beers
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By Owen Ogletree and Brian Bailey
Aside from being one of the most beautiful and welcoming cities in the USA, Savannah offers a handful of wonderful craft breweries. Read on to discover ten tasty beers we sampled on a recent visit.
 About Lager Time
Back River Brewing Company
Tybee Island, Georgia
American Lager, 5.0% ABV
The beer pours crystal clear with a rich golden color and mild layer of white foam. The nose detects cereal grains, clean fermentation, light notes of floral hops and an appealing malt background. This light-bodied lager seems crisp, clean, remarkably refreshing and well-made with no off notes. The malt bill provides a touch of grain complexity, followed by a pleasant hop flavor and smooth, light hop bitterness.
Bongwater Bay
Back River Brewing Company
Tybee Island, Georgia
Session IPA, 5.2% ABV
This beer offers a deep golden color with slight haze and an attractive orange hue topped by a moderate white head. Aromas include tropical hop notes with stone fruits, nectarine and a hint of clove. The flavor profile is composed of wonderful nuances that match the aroma notes. Look for light hop bitterness that leaves a friendly reminder that the drinker just enjoyed a deliciously hoppy brew.
 Paper Cup Pils
Two Tides Brewing Company
Savannah, Georgia
Czech-Style Lager, 5.0% ABV
This beautiful lager pours clear as a bell with beautiful white foam and a pale golden color. Noble-type floral hop aromas emerge that are quite remarkable and seem reminiscent of honeysuckle. No esters are detected in the appealing malt aroma. The palate picks up clean and tasty pilsner malt character and European-type hop flavor and mild bitterness. Note of flowers and mild citrus also highlight this light-bodied, quaffable lager that boasts impressive technical merit.
Sixfoot IPA
Two Tides Brewing Company
Savannah, Georgia
Hazy IPA, 6.5% ABV
The appearance fits the modern ubiquitous hazy IPA pattern of opaque cloudiness, orange hue and a fluffy white layer of foam. Aromas include earthy, catty, tropical fruit notes with hints of chive and diesel-like hemp flowers dominating the cereal grain notes. The palate picks up chalky, mineral-like notes from the water and cereal grains. Flavoring hops come through as pineapple, guava, mango and kiwi with meager hop bitterness and a soft, light/medium mouthfeel.
 Shifties
Hop Atomica
Savannah, Georgia
Session Lager, 4.2% ABV
This beer pours with a gorgeous golden color with a touch of haze and a thin layer of white bubbles. The nose detects biscuit crust, earthy hops and malt, a strawberry jam nuance and light fruity esters. Flavor components match the aroma profile with earthy notes of neutral hops and pale malt highlighted by hints of cantaloupe and lightly caramelized pears. This beer could be a bit too complex for a typical light lager.
The Ordinary
Hop Atomica
Savannah, Georgia
British-Style Ordinary Bitter, 3.0% ABV
This sessionable ale pours with an amber color, slight haze and low foam. Notes of corn, woody/earthy hops, pale malt and ripe fruit esters highlight the aroma profile. Flavors of dark toffee, mild toasted malt, woody UK-type hops and caramel malts emerge on the tongue. This example of a light-bodied, quaffable pub ale also offers mild hop flavor and bitterness.
 Freedom Machine: Volume 7
Service Brewing Company
Savannah, Georgia
Hazy IPA, 6.7% ABV
With typical haze, a deep yellow hue and thin layer of white foam, this potent IPA throws aromas of tropical-like hops up front, followed by nice cereal grain nuances and a rich, juicy hop nose that focuses on citrus and flowers. The medium-bodied ale seems loaded with malt and cereal grain richness backed by stone fruit hints and citrus hop flavors. This pleasant IPA ends slightly malty sweet with low hop bitterness.
Rally Point
Service Brewing Company
Savannah, Georgia
German-Style Pilsner, 4.6% ABV
This mouth-watering brew pours with an eye-catching golden hue and brilliant clarity with a layer of mild white foam. The classic German pilsner malt aroma is highlighted by elegant floral hops and clean fermentation character with no fruity esters. Flavors come across as crisp, clean and appealing with elegant floral German hop flavor and smooth bitterness. Expect a note of lightly toasted bread crust in this light-bodied lager that ends with a mild hop character. This brew conjures memories of visits to Germany.
 Mountain Jam
Southbound Brewing Company
Savannah, Georgia
Hoppy Lager, 5.0% ABV
The beer boasts an appealing golden color with slight haze and attractive white foam. Aroma notes include pilsner malt, slight fruity esters, and resiny/floral hops with hints of lemon. The light/medium body supports appealing hop notes reminiscent of lemon zest and wildflowers. The lager finishes moderately dry with little hop bitterness. This example comes across as a pleasant, drinkable lager that would pair well with pub burgers or grilled chicken.
Scattered Sun
Southbound Brewing Company
Savannah, Georgia
Belgian-Style Witbier, 5.2% ABV
This beer offers the perfect appearance for this wonderful, classic style of ale. Look for a slight haze and luminescent golden hue. Appropriate aroma notes that are present in this beer include pale malt, orange peel, spicy coriander hints and lightly complex fruity esters. Wheat, orange peel and spice notes come through on the palate, balanced by Belgian fermentation esters and mild spicy phenols. This well-constructed, light/medium-bodied brew ends with pleasing citrus and spice nuances on the tongue.
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- Modern Hops' Brewery Spotlight
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Georgia craft beer distributor Modern Hops loves bringing new beers to The Peach State. Here are a few new brews that are hitting retail stores, restaurants and bars in the next few days:
 Slow Pour Pils, Bierstadt Lagerhaus (5.1% German Pilsner) is a strikingly pale, crisp, and bitter northern German-inspired Pils. It is softly malty, aromatic and crushable. [Untappd 4.09] (Available in cans and kegs)
Helles, Bierstadt Lagerhaus (4.9% Helles Lager) is a light lager and the purest expression of malt. (Available in cans and kegs)
Dunkel, Bierstadt Lagerhaus (6% Munich Dunkel) is a Munich-style Dunkel that's dark with flavors of bread crust and chocolate. (Available in cans and kegs)
 Living Millennially Liquid Spiritual Death, 2nd Shift (11.5% Coffee Stout) has notes of breakfast blend; sweet, soft, and bright with the rich dark maltiness that is Liquid Spiritual Delight blended with Living Millennially Roasters coffee beans. [Untappd 4.09](Available in cans and kegs)
Kölsch, 2nd Shift (5.2% Kölsch) is a slightly dry and crisp Kölsch; bright and light and fermented like a lager. (Available in cans and kegs)
Fangs of the Wicked, 2nd Shift (8.3% Belgian Dark Strong Ale) has notes of stone fruit, currants, banana, and molasses, with spices and caramel notes that blend together deliciously. [Untappd 4.02](Available in cans and kegs)
 Winged Creatures, Wayfinder Beer (6.8% IPA) is a West Coast IPA made with Citra, Simcoe, and Mosaic hops. Think tropical pink fruit, bright citrus, and just enough dank. (Available in cans and kegs)
Pärty Time Pils, Wayfinder Beer (5.3% German Pilsner) is a crisp and dry Pilsner that's clear and golden with a spritzy finish. (Available in cans)
 Headset, Finback (5.5% IPA) is a refreshing West Coast-style IPA with Citra, Simcoe, Centennial, and Cascade hops. (Available in cans and kegs)
I See You, Finback (8% Fruited IPA) is a Double IPA with cantaloupe, then dry hopped with Mosaic, Belma and Hallertau Blanc hops. [Untappd 4.14] (Available in kegs)
Modern Hops is a valued sponsor of this Brewsletter.
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June 18-22, 2025
Wild Heaven West End
Atlanta, Georgia
*****
SAVE THE DATE!
Saturday, January 31, 2026
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- Follow Owen Ogletree and Brewtopia Events on Social Media
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UP NEXT...
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Owen heads to Vilnius, Lithuania with Spike Buckowski and Pete Dasher to scope out the best breweries and beer bars in the city! Watch for our posts on social media.
Photo: The Guardian
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