Way back in December I wrote about the frustration The Terrapin Beer Co. in Athens Georgia was facing as they waited for a state brewers’ license and the solidarity ’stache movement they started in protest of their wait. Well, almost a full year after they purchased a 45,000-square-foot brewery in Athens, the owners of Terrapin Beer can finally shave off those Fu Manchus. A dream come true for partners John Cochran and Brian “Spike” Buckowski more than a decade in the making, the first barrels of Terrapin Rye — which first burst onto the beer scene after grabbing the Gold Medal for best American-Style Pale Ale at the 2002 — were tapped at the now fully operational brewery at the end of February.
Now the brewery is producing their staple line up, their new “Monster Beer Tour” line — including Rye Squared (out now), All American Imperial Pilsner in the summer, Big Hoppy Monster in the fall, and Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout in the winter — and their series of even more limited beers, dubbed Side Project, which will be released in 22-ounce bottles on a much less regular basis. Ironically, the first one, which was brewed in response to the current worldwide hops shortage, is a hugely hoppy beer named Hop Shortage (look for it in stores in the South East at the end of the month).
If all goes according to plan, Terrapin will brew about 800 barrels a month and up to about 10,000 barrels the first year – great news for a brewery which, despite its enormous popularity, could not produce much more than a fancy handle-bar mustache a mere few months ago.
Source: “For Terrapin Beer Co., happy hour has arrived” [The Journal-Constitution]
[tags]Terrapin Beer Co, beer, Athens Georgia, craft beer[/tags]
