Hoptaneous Combustion

June 19, 2009: As the crackling embers float into the humid Athens air, the crowd stands tired and haunted watching the dreams of many go up in flames. The Georgia Theater burns to the ground. This glorious theater was the home to acts such as Wide Spread Panic, Phish, REM and the B52’s.  The roof's trusses were the type of wood you can't get anymore, 300 year old heart pine. They removed those charred beams to build new bars out of the unburned inner core. The fire burned so hot it was estimated 2500 degrees inside. Only the walls were salvageable and they required help to rebuild. Terrapin Brewery stepped up to help in any way they can. They developed the Theater Sessions: Each release in the series will highlight a different era in the history of the building:

·        

Brew 1 – March – "The Iron Tankard" Old Stock Ale – The building started as a YMCA in 1889 and had a huge iron swimming pool in the basement.

·         Brew 2 – June – "Double Feature" Belgian Dubbel – Later the building became a movie theatre.

·         Brew 3 – September – "Sound Czech" Czech Pilsner – Highlighting the wonderful days of the Georgia Theatre’s music career

·         Brew 4 – December – "Hoptaneous Combustion" Imperial IPA – Inspired by the tragic fire and a look into the future.

I reared still as my buddy, Chris, poured the beautiful foggy auburn/tawny cocktail into a signature snifter. The carbonation churns fizzles and forms a plane of white head atop the glass.

I could smell the smoke heavily charred bold and dominating the top of the snifter. It’s closely followed by spicy ginger, enormous salacious grapefruit hops.

Leading mouthful divulges light bready cracker malt followed by the snap of citrus fruit and mild bitterness. Smoke fills your mouth and sinus. It makes perfect sense. The carbonation, bold, snapped against my tongue in violent technique. This is a stunning disaster. A seamlessly composed IPA unified with the uncommon, inimitable but striking smoke.

The smoked IPA faultlessness matched with a scientific exactitude: The beer explicates the theaters catastrophe, but leaves courage for the future.