A salute to Savannah's Service Brewing

Everything was inspection ready when Service Brewing Co. opened its tasting room last Saturday. The floors and equipment were shined, the gift shop was stocked, and, best of all, the menu board was stacked with choices. The story of Service Brewing has been well chronicled. Army veterans Kevin Ryan, Dan Sartin and Jeff Hyatt have painstakingly converted a cavernous century-old warehouse just off Savannah’s riverfront into a state-of-the-art craft brewery. It’s a saga of patriotism and persistence. But, the success of Service Brewing will hinge on factors far less idealistic. For that to happen, its beers have to appeal to an increasingly educated and sophisticated beer audience. Happily, based on my tasting room experiences, along with earlier opportunities to try their beers, I’m convinced that Service Brewery has the requisite arms to make that happen. Ground Pounder Pale Ale, Rally Point Pilsner and Compass Rose IPA are solid examples of those styles. Two other selections, Peach Apricot Pale Ale and a Cask Biere de Garde, are particularly distinctive and delicious. Go by and give them a try. The brewery is located at 574 Indian St. The tasting room will be open from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays. Tours will also be conducted during those hours. For more information, go to servicebrewing.com.

Bike, Beer, Bike: A balanced plan for the long Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend used to present me with two opportunities: Enjoy the Savannah Craft Brew Fest on Saturday, and then endure the Savannah Century bicycle ride on Sunday. To be honest, the past couple of years I’ve skipped the festival, preferring to rest up for the ride instead. This year, however, I came up with a different strategy: Ride 50 miles on Saturday morning, go to the beer festival on Saturday afternoon, and then put in 50 more miles on Sunday morning. Both bike treks – 49 miles on Saturday, 51 miles on Sunday – were done on the windy, quiet roads of Hunter Army Airfield. Matt Linebarger, Bill Brown, Ed Kenreich, Dr. Spencer Wheeler, Chris Klein and Danny Nagelberg also turned out for the rides and the camaraderie. Good cycling companions are hard to find, and I’m very fortunate to be part of a group that has coalesced over many years and countless miles. Companionship, in the person of Tim Rutherford, was also the key to survival, or at least maintaining some semblance of sobriety, at the Savannah Craft Brew Fest on Hutchinson Island. We got there in time to stand in line and sweat and swear, but all that was quickly put aside once the gate opened at 1 p.m. Keeping my choices to selections that I had not tried before, and please keep in mind that these are 1- or 2-ounce pours, I made my way around the Trade and Convention Center, sampling a dozen or beers, including Creature Comforts’ Tropicalia (an American IPA), Highland Anniversary Saison, Kentucky Ale Bourbon Barrel Pumpkin, O’Dempsey’s Inukshuk IPA, Cisco Grey Lady Ale (a wheat ale), Red Hare National Companion (a California common), Sierra Nevada Flipside Red Pale Ale, Burnt Hickory 9353 (a tart Belgian IPA brewed with peaches) and Goose Island’s 312 Urban Pale Ale. That was all done in the space of about an hour, and I then headed home to rest and refuel for the next day’s ride. This looks like a good blueprint for next year.