We leveraged our annual Washington Nationals road trip to see the Nats play the
Braves and found several excellent craft beverage options in the
Battery complex and within
Truist Park itself. The stadium opened in 2017 succeeding
Turner Field and the old
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Battery is an entertainment district that surrounds the ballpark and includes a mix of shops, dining, living, and workspace - plus a brewery and distillery.
Terrapin Beer Company is one of the oldest breweries in Georgia and has well-established name recognition throughout the U.S. Their
ATL Brew Lab opened in the Battery along with Truist Park and has entrances just outside and inside the ballpark. As a brewpub, they partnered with
Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q to provide excellent bbq to complement the brewery's large beer portfolio. Any new visitor must start with the flagship
Rye Pale Ale which was first introduced in 2002 at the brewery's inception. This is still one of my favorites and pairs nicely with brisket. The
Dugout Keller Pils is also a flavorful option and cleanses the palate to start anew. Finally, the
Expresso Martini Imperial White Stout was a solid offering to cap the post-game festivities. Inside the stadium, the
Los Bravos Mexican Lager is available with most vendors and at the Terrapin bar - which also poured a couple IPAs and the
Watermelon Gose. Hit this bar before proceeding to the Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q stand in center field.
ASW Distillery operates three locations in Atlanta, with a tasting room located steps away from Truist Park providing flights as well as cocktails to Braves fans and visitors. This distillery combines the unique history of three distilling families to combine traditional, Scottish-style double copper pot distillation, with innovative, Southern-style grain-in distillation, to consider themselves Southern Pot-Still Pioneers. The whiskeys in my flight were particularly interesting with the overall favorite being the Resurgens Rye -- a revival of the Appalachian-style ryes of the past made from 100% malted rye (rather than unmalted rye and corn). Expect chocolate and a smooth finish.
The rest of the flight featured several interesting whiskeys. The
Duality Double Malt is truly unique in that it is the world’s first whiskey of its kind: fermenting two malted grains - barley & rye - fermented together in the same vessel before being distilled together and maturing in charred oak casks. A complex spirit. ASW also offers a Fiddler Bourbon series that "showcase interesting whiskies from across the country that they 'fiddle with' to create new flavor profiles". The
Fiddler Unison Bourbon "marries a foraged high-wheat bourbon, with our own in-house, high-malt bourbon that we distilled by hand on our traditional, double copper pot stills". And the
Fiddler Heartwood Bourbon "begins with the same foraged high-wheat mash bill as Fiddler Unison Bourbon. We then finish it on hand-harvested, charred Georgia white oak heartwood staves that we hand-charred and placed in the barrels for the final few months of maturation". A failed in keeping tasting notes, but remember being highly satisfied with both. Until our next trip to the Battery, cheers.