Don't Float the Mainstream

Sweetwater is a favourite of mine when in the southern US. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, It's a brewery I have never visited but have had plenty of. I first discovered them the first time I flew through Atlanta airport. They have a bar in concourse B and this time around, I had a few more lovely beers while on the way to Alabama. Sadly I did not get the same chance on the way back because our flight to Atlanta was delayed and there was no time once we got there.

Not to worry, Sweetwater beers were plentiful and 420 became my beer of choice in Alabama and Florida. Almost everywhere we went had it on tap, sometimes as their only craft beer. I picked up a mixed pack so here are two of their beers I have not had before.

Sadly this is a beer I did not like. Low Ryeder IPA sounded the sort of beer I would love and I was incredibly disappointed. I normally do like Rye in beer, or so I thought but I'm not sure the problem was the rye. I wonder did I get some sort of bad bottle, or bottles because I tried 2 of them and they were the same. I'm sure there was a good beer in there somewhere but it was just ruined by what I can only describe as a heavily perfumed bar of soap aroma and flavour! Seriously, my mother in law often sends Easter baskets from the US. She includes a load of candy and chocolates (American chocolate is almost inedible) but she often includes home made soap and sometimes the candy tastes like soap as it has absorbed the aroma during shipping. That's what it was like. If anyone reading has had a different experience with Low Ryeder IPA then please let me know.

The third bottle my wife took and said she rather enjoyed it, which is interesting because she did not like the taste of mine when I gave her a sip so perhaps it was just a couple of bad bottles?

Much more to my liking is Exodus porter. It's a classic American porter with a strong fresh coffee bean and  cocoa powder on the nose. It seriously tasted like a cold coffee, perhaps a mocha. I have not had coffee in about 12 years so I'm only going on memory and I have never had a mocha so what do I know? Either way, it was a lovely beer and I enjoyed the three I got in the mixed pack.

Again I say, if you find yourself in Atlanta airport with time to kill, even if you are on a different concourse, jump on the train to concourse B and enjoy the usually fantastic Sweetwater beers. My favourites so far are 420, Georgia Brown and the IPA along with Exodus porter.