Name: Moon River Brewing Company
Location: Savannah, GA
Type: Brewpub
Available in DC Market?: No
What you need to know: This brewery is led by Brewmaster John Pinkerton, who heads the fledgling Georgia Craft Brewers Guild. His brewery occupies one of the oldest buildings in Savannah, which is said to be genuinely haunted. Here’s to hoping no ectoplasm gets into the variety of beers that Pinkerton brews. A time honored tradition at this brewpub is the weekly 6 O’Clock Toast on Friday evening, which is something I really wish one of DC’s craft beer bars would pick up and start as a new tradition. Looks like this Savannah brewpub packs a lot of character into its space and beers. Count me among those glad Moon River is back for another go-around.
Beer #1: Rosemary Swamp Fox IPA
Notes: This beer took home a 2010 GABF Gold Medal in category 5 (Herb and Spice or Chocolate Beers; 91 entries). Look for the herbaceous pine aroma and flavor of the rosemary to blend nicely with the Centennial and Chinook hops. This is a combination that should work quite nicely, and if you’re a hophead, you’re going to want to try this one for sure. Moon River brought this one to SAVOR last year and it has been on my mind ever since. I’m being completely serious. It’s a must-have.
BeerAdvocate Grade: 84 (42 reviews)
Ratebeer Grade: 75 overall; 42 style
Beer #2: Dixie Crystal Trippel
Notes: Trippels usually benefit from the addition of certain varieties of “candi” sugar to the boil to enhance their body, flavor and (ahem) alcohol levels. That’s all well and good and has been a part of the Belgian brewing tradition for longer than Walder Frey has been acting the fool and collecting wives – and that’s a long time. Well, the gents over at Moon River wanted to mix their own tradition with those of the Belgians and they did so by adding DIXIE CRYSTAL SUGAR to this particular beer to enhance its plum, coriander and pear flavors. Will it work? I don’t know, but I’ll be trying it when I drop by to get my fix of Rosemary Swamp Fox, that’s for sure.
BeerAdvocate Grade: N/A
Ratebeer Grade: N/A
Summary: Are you big on toasts? Stop by the Moon River booth and say hi to their staff. Entertain them with your best toast (don’t forget to end with “Shut up and drink your beer!”) and you might score some great swag. This is a brewery whose beers you won’t see up in this area, so stop by and give them a try.
This profile is a part of the DCBEER.COM SAVOR Brewery Profile series. For more information, follow the link to see profiles of all 2012 SAVOR participants.
Beer Review Disclaimer: The beer reviews found on Beer Advocate and Rate Beer do not represent the opinions of this site. We provide these in the hope that they will serve as a resource showing what some craft beer fans have thought of the beers. These reviews can be a helpful guideline, but are not the be-all end-all about a beer’s strengths or weaknesses.
