Trying out some Beers of Georgia Craft Beer Week at The Wing Cafe and Taproom (Marietta)

During Georgia Craft Beer Week, The Wing Cafe and Tap House in Marietta have put Georgia-based breweries on all 42 taps.  They have beers from 23 different Georgia breweries this week.

Sounds like a perfect place for Spore and the Humans to go...

So, between a few of us, we tried a few of flights on a very busy night.  (Our waitress, Brooke, was very tolerant.)

Spore checks out a few of the dark beers.

Here are some brief opinions of the beers we tried.  These are just our opinions, which can certainly be ignored.

Red Hare Sticky Stout - Ok.  Not a ton of flavor.  A little watery. 6/10
Red Brick Thick & Silky - Creamy.  Chocolately, with a light chocolate flavor.  Nice. 8/10
Burnt Hickory Die Kreuzen Imperial Pumpkin Porter - Really nice.  Pumpkin and spice balanced really well. 7.5/10
Cherry Street Pumpkin Pie Porter - Surpisingly, even better than the Burnt Hickory.  All flavors were a little bit deeper and more intense.  8/10
Eventide Nitro Stout - Creamy, as expected from a nitrogenated beer.  But, not a ton of flavor (also as expected from a nitro beer.)  It had a slight "off" flavor.  Certainly drinkable, but nothing special.  5/10
Burnt Hickory 9353 Peach (Belgian IPA) - Very tart, with a wheat-y flavor.  Some peach, but more tart grapefruit flavor.  One of the VERY few Burnt Hickory offerings that we've been disappointed with.  3/10
Grumpy Old Men Steam - Smells awful, tastes even worse.  1/10
Blue Tarp Hopsided IPA - A little difference of opinion on this.  I felt it had a medium IPA flavor.  Not too hoppy.  Others felt it was awful.  6/10
Sweetwater Johnny Hash IPA - The normal SW IPA flavor is slightly present up front, but followed by a ton of bitterness.  The consensus was that the "normal" SW IPA is much better.  7/10
Red Hare Fresh Hopped IPA - This was the favorite of the hoppy beers.  It has a really nice flavor.  It's not as hoppy as a lot of IPAs, but has a really nice fragrance and flavor. 9/10
Creature Comforts Rye - Considering it's aged on French Oak, I expected more oak-flavor to this one.  It's certainly drinkable, but does not have a ton of flavor.  5/10
Coastal Empire Savannah Brown - It has a slight sweetness, and some slight bitterness.  Nothing special.  4/10
Wild Heaven Ode to Mercy - Decent flavor.  A lot more intense than a "normal" brown...but it's still a brown.  6/10


A bit about the Wing:

The Wing Cafe has been in Marietta for almost 20 years, originally as a Wild Wing location.  They have 42 taps across 3 bars: the "main" bar in the center of the restaurant, a bar in the shuffleboard/smoking room, and a tiki bar.

The main bar and restaurant are ok, but nothing spectacular.  The smoking room is all that you'd expect it to be, except with better beers and a shuffleboard table.  But, the standout is the tiki bar.

The tiki bar/deck is actually the nicest outdoor area we've seen at a bar in the Atlanta area.  The bar seats around 25 people, and has about a dozen taps, along with bottled beers, liquor and frozen beverages.  The large deck provides additional seating.  At most bars around Atlanta, the deck overlooks a busy street or a parking lot, but the Wing's deck overlooks a wooded area at the back of the property.  (One downfall of the tiki bar is that if they are busy, then you're limited to the beers at that bar; they typically only have one bartender, and it's tough for him or her to run into the other bars to get beers.)  Unfortunately the tiki bar is only open from April to October, but you can go out to the deck whenever the weather is cooperating.

The bartenders are very knowledgeable about the beers, and are happy to give suggestions if you are unable to pick a selection from the beer menu.  The servers' knowledge is a little more hit-and-miss.  Some of the servers know the beers almost as well as the bartenders; others, not so much.  But, you can always get a sample of a draft before ordering a glass.  If you're still undecided, order a flight; flights are a great deal at $6.95 for four 6 oz. tasters.

The Wing has a pretty extensive menu.  Some items are better than others, but on average I'd say that the food is better than average for a bar.  Based on the restaurant's name, it should come as no surprise that wings are their specialty; they have over 30 varieties.  But, my recommendation would be to pass on the wings, and get the Bac-O-Burger.  Oh, this isn't a burger that just has a couple of strips of bacon on top; instead, the bacon is cut up and infused right into the burger to ensure that every bite is full of bacon-y goodness.  I'd also recommend the Black N' Blue Burger or french dip.  The menu also has a number of other options, including sandwiches, wraps and salads. 

The Wing has a number of events going on monthly and each week.  Weekly events include Texas Hold 'Em tournaments, their very popular Tuesday night wing special, and live music on Fridays and Saturdays.  They host beer dinners approximately once per month.  The Wing also has a day-long event in the courtyard almost every month, including an Oktoberfest, St. Patrick's Day Celebration and Mardi Gras Crawfish Boil.

This is one of the best beer-bars (and restaurants) in the northern suburbs, and I'd recommend trying them out.  And, what better time than right now, when their taps are flowing with Georgia beers?

Some other upcoming events at The Wing:

Rare & Vintage Beer Fest (October 25, 1:30-4:30pm)
The Wing will have 19 rare beers available for tasting.  Your ticket includes 12 - 3 ounce tastes, along with food and swag.  Advance Purchase Tickets are available for $55.

Barrel-Aged Beer Diner (November 14, 8pm)
The Wing will have 4 barrel-aged beers, paired with 4 courses (menu to be determined).  Tickets are $50;

Chili Cookoff (November 22, 1:30-6:00pm)
While sampling chili from the competitors,  you can listen to Cigar Box Guitar Music in the courtyard, and drinking craft beers. If you'd like to participate in the cookoff, you will need to enter by November 17.

Georgia Craft Beer Week tap list at the Wing:

• Sweetwater Johnny Hop Nash Double IPA
• Sweetwater Whiplash White IPA
• Sweetwater 420
• Terrapin Moo-hoo Chocolate Stout
• Terrapin Hopsecutioner IPA
• Terrapin Recreation Ale
• Red Hare Sticky Stout
• Red Hare Gangway IPA
• Red Hare Fresh Hopped IPA
• Red Brick Hibiscuwit Belgian Wit
• Red Brick Thick & Silky Oatmeal Porter
• Red Brick Brother Leo Belgian IPA
• Orpheus Lyric Ale Hoppy Saison
• Orpheus Sykophantes Fig Sour
• Wild Heaven Autumn Defense Marzen
• Wild Heaven Ode to Mercy Imperial Brown Ale
• Wild Heaven Eschaton Belgian Style Quad
• Monday Night Bed Head Coffee IPA
• Monday Night Hipster Harvest Ale
• Monday Night Gun Show Belgian Golden Ale
• Jekyll Cooter Brown
• Jekyll Hop Dang Diggity IPA
• Jekyll Oktoberfest
• 3 Taverns Recluse Belgian Stout
• 3 Taverns Prince of Pilsen*
• Burnt Hickory Peach IPA
• Burnt Hickory Die Kreuzen Imperial Pumpkin
• Reformation Cadence Belgian Style Double Abbey
• Creature of Comforts Rye Red (Rye on French Oaks)
• Coastal Empire Savannah Brown
• Cherry Street Pumpkin Pie Porter
• Eagle Creek Grassroots (Lemon-Lime Hefeweizen)
• Yes Face ESB
• Eventide Nitro Stout
• Wrecking Bar Kolsch
• Grumpy Old Men California Common (West Coast IPA)
• Macon Beer Co. Progress (American Pale Ale)
• Blue Tap Hopsided IPA
• Jailhouse Restraining Order Porter
• Second Self Sason
• Second Self Red Hop Rye