Things We May Have in Common with Terrapin Brewing Company
1. We’re fans of The Grateful Dead
2. We may or may not have eaten Chinese food this week.
3. We would pick Athens as our next home.
4. We cannot confirm nor deny the fact that we may have slept in a stairwell and/or fallen into a few bushes.
5. We love their Beer.
From their groovy turtle to their groovy beer, Terrapin Brewing Company is hands down an icon and trendsetter in the craft beer industry.
We had the opportunity to swing by Athens and check out the taproom for Terrapin and it was overwhelming.
I must be getting older. Well, I am getting older, but this taproom is crazy. We did little research for this one and by little, I mean next to none. (Actually, none.) This would be our downfall.
Seven things we know about this trip:
1. We arrived in Athens about 40 minutes before the tap room opened
2. We did not have a hotel room
3. The hotels were booked solid.
4. I phones help you get into an overbooked hotel
5. We arrived at the taproom right as they opened.
6. The taproom is only open for 2 HOURS. (Not a minute longer)
7. I now know how a Flash Mob operates.
It was Quench Wench’s birthday week and Terrapin lets you in free on the week of your birthday; however, it was not my birthday, so here are the details.
We arrived and raced to get in line because there were cars pulling into the lot faster than I could count.
The line wanders through the gift shop and up to the cash register. It’s $10 to gain entry, but you do get a Terrapin Pint glass and about 10 tasting tickets.
We followed the people in front of us into the warehouse. There were tours heading through the brewery on our right and three lines forming for beer in front of us. A few people had picked up the bags and started playing a little indoor cornhole. I walked past the taps and outside to where the live band was playing. What awaited me was breathtaking. There were two more lines with about 30 to 40 people in each line. There were dogs playing Frisbee and maybe a couple of the dogs were playing poker. As I stood there bewildered, more people were filtering in and within a few minutes, the place was packed. What was I thinking? It was Friday in a college town. The students of UGA can really throw back some good beer. The lines never dwindled. Their glasses were never empty and this beer was delicious.
If you go and you would like to try all of the beers, get your first beer, get back in line, and then repeat. If you are going for a good time, grab your first beer, maybe a hot dog, chill out to the sound of the band, and play a little hacky sack or cornhole. This is not a tap room for weak. You’re mingling with students that know how to relax and are in their element at a brewery.
Terrapin is everything that I wanted it to be and more. The beer was the delicious, the event was fun and the atmosphere was nothing but Southern hospitality.
