Brewery Tours + Tastings :: Not Just for Beer Snobs!

If your local brewery isn't your favorite hangout -- I'm here to convince you otherwise. Living in the Atlanta area -- I'm pretty spoiled. We have excellent choices from the big dogs like SweetWater to up + coming places like Red Hare -- both of which should be on your Atlanta Bucket List if you're visiting + like to have a good time. So far I've explored SweetWater, Red Hare, Monday Night, + Red Brick. You should visit all of those places + try their beers too.

Reasons your local brewery should be your new hangout ::

• drink tickets :: most places you visit [read :: all the breweries I've ever been to] usually charge $10 + that gets you a souvenir pint glass + 6 drink tickets. Depending on how cool your bartender is + how well you tip them, the pours vary from about 3/4 of a glass to almost full [pro tip :: always tip your bartenders.]
• live music :: most of these brewery venues are pretty cool + planned for tastings. The thought process behind them being that they can double as event venues when not being used for tastings. Depending on your brewery of choice -- there will be some type of live music aspect :: Red Hare has music year round whereas SweetWater only has it during the warmer months. I'm a sucker for a live band. 
• happy hour[s] :: weekday tastings are usually right after work -- so 5:30 - 7:30. Let's be honest -- who doesn't want [need] a drink or two to unwind after work? It's a great place to unwind + hang out with your coworkers. Hate your coworkers? It's a great place to meet your friends + forget about your coworkers!
• souvenir pint glasses :: okay -- so my souvenir pint glass collection is to the point where if I go to a brewery [or Taco Mac pint night...] + I already have one [or 6..] of that particular glass -- I'll leave it for someone else to take home. I love the glasses though -- my house will probably only have pint glasses to drink from. 
• chill atmosphere :: unlike the bars in Buckhead -- breweries tend to have a laid back vibe. It's not that much of a fight to get to the bar + no one will hand you a shot of fireball when you least expect it. However, in my experience, brewery tours do tend to lead to a night out on the town.
• encouraged day drinking :: Saturday + Sunday tastings are during the afternoon! These are also the days that the breweries will most likely put on all sorts of fun activities -- beer release parties, birthday parties, food trucks! 
• drink local -- it's good for your soul :: most of these places are put together by people who were like "man -- we should buy a bar!" They're your neighbors + they're in it for mostly fun [obviously a little for the money] but you know you already shop local -- so you should drink local too!

My Atlanta Brewery Bucket List ::

• Terrapin -- I know it's hard to believe I went to UGA + never made it to Terrapin -- it just wasn't the cool thing to do yet.
• Blue Tarp
• Jekyll Brewing
• Three Taverns
• Burnt Hickory Brewing
• Any new brewery I come across...

Do you have a favorite brewery I missed? Somewhere I should add to my bucket list?