Brew Review – Juice Lord and Savior by Magnanimous Brewing

If you ever find yourself in Atlanta, do yourself a favor and hop the MARTA train over to Decatur just to go to The Brick Store Pub.

It is an amazing 130-year-old building that has become a shrine to the joys of proper, and I do mean proper, beer service. Every single beer is meticulously poured and served in the correct glassware. Most of the time that glassware is properly labeled with the correct brewery’s logo.

Seriously, there’s multiple rooms in their basement full of organized glassware.

This is accompanied by a beautiful cask engine bar upstairs above the main bar, and off to the side is a whole section devoted to nothing but beautiful Belgian ales. Let’s put it this way, Brick Store is so important they literally have a beer named after them and brewed for them by none other than St. Bernardus. Yes, that St. Bernardus.

And for being such a chill relaxed and respectful beer pub, that kitchen is the most hopping place in all of the Atlanta metro area. They were jamming and it was awesome. Try the fish and chips, well worth it.

It is an absolute godsend of a place, and it’s all headed up by Beer Manager Neil Callaghan.

Neil, just so you understand what we are dealing with, is one of only 3 Advanced Cicerones in Georgia, and is returning to Brick Store after spending the better part of a decade as the brand manager at Cigar City Brewing in Tampa.

All of this is and more is why I had to get him on the Florida Beer Podcast, and it’s going to be a great episode once that finally gets released.

So while there, I am always interested to hear what kind of beers they have on tap from Florida. I ran into a lot less than I thought I would while in Georgia, but Brick Store came through. They have a couple, and their tap list tends to change a few times a day. The website keeps up with that, which is amazing, and that doesn’t go into all of the bottles that they currently have in storage, including some fantastic bottles from Cigar City, Green Bench, and more.

I was interested to see why they had, of all things, Juice Lord and Savior (Double NEIPA, 8.5% ABV) from Tampa’s Magnanimous Brewing, until I realized that Neil had worked with Michael Lakacina and Charlie Meers, owners of Magnanimous Brewing, when all 3 were at Cigar City.

Once that little piece of information dropped, it all made perfect sense.

Part of me was a little amazed to see a Double IPA on the menu at a brewery who’s love and adoration for Belgian beers is legendary, but this is an utterly fantastic beer. So I understand.

It’s got a bright, easy, golden straw color, with wonderful juicy orange and lemon notes leaping out of the glass. But not necessarily bitter. I know that you can smell some IPAs and you know you’re going to be in for a dank fest, and this wasn’t that beer.

The flavors were amazingly sweet and citrus forward, a lot of tangerine and papaya and lemon, but somehow not too aggressive with the citrus bitterness. This is a double IPA I would order again and again, it was big and flavorful but still controlled in its bitterness.

Of course, I would prefer to be back in Decatur ordering it at The Brick Store, but their keg has long since run out. As long as I can get Magnanimous Beers somewhere, anywhere, I think I would be a very happy camper.

But I can’t underestimate the beer selection at Brick Store. Or Neil. Or the fish and chips. Fantastic.

Drink Florida Craft,

Dave
@floridabeerblog
floridabeerblog@gmail.com

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