Traveling by Beer in the Deep South of Georgia

Believe it or not, three out of the top 10 best breweries in the US are located in Georgia. Seeing as they have three of the best beer manufactures, Georgia sounds like a great place to travel to if you are a beer lover or connoisseur.

These top three breweries consist of Terrapin Beer Company, Atlanta Brewing and Sweetwater Brewing.

Terrapin Beer Company which is located in Athens, Georgia was founded by "Brian Buckowski and John Cochran. After years of these men contemplating how to start their own brewery, finally achieved their goals and got to work. Once the brewery made its grand opening, they released their first beer which was the Terrapin Rye Pale Ale, which was awarded a gold medal only 6 months after being released has made great strides in many contests and eventually chosen by producers of "Blue Ribbon" which landed them to be voted that Terrapin was the best brewery in the Southeast by a whopping 72%. You can take a tour of this brewery on Thursdays, Friday & Saturday from 5:30PM - 7:30PM (closed most holidays). Terrapin Beer Company is located at 265 Newton Bridge Road in Athens, Georgia.

The 2^nd name top brewing company in Georgia is Atlanta Brewing which is located in Atlanta, Georgia. This Brewery was founded in 1993 and is now the oldest operation craft brewery in the state. Red Brick Ale was the first beer developed and brewed by the Atlanta Brewing Company. To this day this Red Brick Ale still remains to be their flagship beer and is available all months of the year along with a few others of their popular beers such as Peachtree Pale Ale and Red Brick Blonde. With many awards given to this brewery, they remain one of the best breweries of Atlanta and the US for that matter. If you're interested in touring this brewery, there is a tasting and tour hosted every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 6:00Pm to 8:00PM. They usually offer three or four beers, including seasonal beers for tasting right from the taps. Who needs a bar, when you can enjoy a comfortable lounge with plenty of seating, big screen televisions, music and of course the free sampling of beers! You can find Georgia's Atlanta Brewing Company at 2323 Defoor Hills Road NW, Atlanta, Georgia.

The third most popular brewery in Georgia is also located in Atlanta. Sweetwater Brewing who was founded by Fredrick Bensch and Kevin McNerny in 1997 has an 18,000-barrel microbrewery that specializes in brewing west coast style beers. The Sweetwater's beers have grown throughout the state and have been the talk of most towns in Georgia. Their popular brews included: Sweet Georgia Brown, Sweetwater Blue, Sweetwater Exodus, Sweetwater Festive Ale, Sweetwater IPA, Sweetwater 420, and Sweetwater India Pale Ale. Sweetwater Brewing also hosts weekly tours every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday beginning at 5:30PM and Saturdays from 2:30PM - 4:30PM. You can find Sweetwater Brewery at 195 Ottley Drive in Atlanta, Georgia.

Along with these 3 great breweries, there are also some great bars around Atlanta area that have made their mark on Georgia's great cities. Since these 3 breweries are between Atlanta and Athens, you can drive to visit the different locations with only an hour car ride between the two cities.

Johnny's Hideway on 3771 Roswell Road NE, in Atlanta has some of the highest ratings for bars in the area. You can also visit the Horseradish Grill at 4320 powers Ferry Road, Atlanta or even Manuel's Tavern at 602 North Highland Avenue NE, Atlanta. The top starred bars are sure to get your taste buds moving.

If you're in Athens visiting the Terrapin Beer Company and you're looking for some excitement after the tour, you can visit some of these top talked about bars in the area: Flannigan's Bar & Grill located at 301 East Clayton Street, Athens, Blind Pig Tavern, 485 Baldwin Street, Athens, Broad Street Bar & Grill, 311 East Broad Street, Athens, Nowhere Bar, 240 North Lumpkin Street, Athens and the Georgia Bar at 159 West Clayton Street, Athens. If you're looking to do some bar hopping, Athens is the place to be. The bars just listed in the Athens area are all within a couple of block from each other, and driving is not needed.Remember, enjoy yourselves responsibly!