Brewery Visit: Moon River Brewing Company

Over spring break, I had the opportunity to visit Moon River Brewing Company in downtown Savannah, GA. Located on Bay Street, right near the Savannah River, Moon River opened its doors in 1999. the facility unfortunately does not allow for tours through the actual brewery. Instead, my mom and I had to settle for sitting at the bar and asking the bartender about the brewing process.

What we could see of the brewing process at Moon River.

It takes about one week to brew each of Moon River's nine brews. Some of the most interesting things we learned about this business wasn't about the brewing process but about the bottling and distribution of the beers. According to Georgia law, the bottling company has to be separate from the brewery. Because of this, Moon River does not distribute its beers in bottles, but rather in kegs. It also only distributes its beers within Georgia, only going so far as Atlanta and Athens.

Now to the best part: the tasting. For only a few dollars, we could have a sampler of six of Moon River's nine unique brews. Served light to dark on a wooden board shaped like a moon, for Moon River (my mom didn't quite get that it was a moon, so she called it a "smile board" for quite awhile).

A sample platter containing six of Moon River's unique brews.

We sampled light to dark, starting with the beer on the far right in the picture above.

Belly-Washer Golden Ale

Menu Description: this easy drinking, Golden Ale, is brewed with malts from Canada, hops from the US and English yeast. At the end of the day, Moon River's Belly-Washer is like any good mutt: difficult to describe, but loveable and fun to hang out with.

I'm more of a light beer girl, so I was a fan of this brew. Unfortunately, I'm unable to say more then that cause we got the beers mixed up on the menu and I didn't write down anything about this brew other then that I liked it.

Wild Wacky Wit

Menu Description: spiced with Curacao bitter orange peel and Coriander. Light and exotic..a party in your mouth.

I could definitely taste the orange peel when I tasted it. It was a bit strange to me, as I would never expect any taste that remotely resembled fruit in my beer. That's what wine is for! True to the description, it was a pretty light beer. Maybe my young and inexperienced palette is the reason for this, but the unexpected fruitiness of it didn't quite hit my forte. 

Apparition Ale

Menu Description: using all ingredients imported from the UK, this beer is driven by malt flavors of caramel and toast with a fruity English-ale yeast character.

If orange peel and beer blew your mind, then toast will definitely weird you out. Who ever would have thought to pair toast and beer? Certainly not me. Maybe Professor Boyer would be interested in a breakfast beer, but I think of beer as more of an afternoon thing (wine for breakfast, I can fully support). I was not a fan of this one..the flavors of toast and the yeast in alocholic liquid format was just too much for me.

Slow-Vannah

Menu Description: this mildly hopped beer is smooth and laid back just like Savannah. Thanks to the addition of malted oats to the mash, the Slow-Vannah has a deceptively full body even though it is a fairly light beer.

This was perhaps my favorite beer. It was exactly what I like from beer: light, lazy, and smooth. 

Swamp Fox

Swamp Fox

Menu Description: like its namesake, this ale is known for the sneak attack. Hop-heads will enjoy its assertive bitterness and huge, floral, dry hop aroma.

I also liked this beer. It was just heavy enough for me. 

Captain's Porter

Menu Description: Close your eyes, take a sip and think dark chocolate. Case in point, all dark beers don't have to be bitter! Don't be afraid of the dark!

The darker chocolate gets, the more bitter it tastes. And personally, I'm a fan of milk chocolate. I, personally, couldn't even taste the chocolate in it, and instead tasted coffee (is it just me, or do all beers taste like coffee?). Like I said, I'm a light beer girl, and this one didn't make me anymore inclined towards dark beer.

Our finished platter. The random full cup was our spit cup!

Ladies can drink beer too! My mom and I split the platter, and we were sure glad we did. It was only the middle of the afternoon and we still had a lot more of Savannah to see! Personally, I was not inclined to be that drunk, stumbling tourist, especially just after lunchtime and especially not with my mom. We paid our bill and bid farewell to Moon River Brewery and walked away to see the rest of Savannah.

My Life With Wine Thus Far

Even though I only recently turned 21 in late November, my experience with wine has not been limited to only the last two months. In addition to drunken nights in with my girlfriends, sobbing over exes and exchanging gossip, I have also been lucky enough to take advantage of the lower legal drinking ages in other countries, mostly in Europe.
I had my first sip of wine when I was fifteen in Paris. While the drinking age in France is 18, it is hardly enforced as much as it is in the United States. At a restaurant, I ordered a glass of rosette. My taste for alcohol was still growing; I was still learning that one is supposed to enjoy the feeling alcohol gives you, not the taste, and I drank very little of it over the course of dinner. I didn't drink much on that trip; I still much preferred a tasty soda as opposed to the dry taste of French wine.
It took some time, but I eventually learned that the point of alcohol is not always to enjoy the taste, but rather to enjoy the buzz it gives. I finally started drinking wine, beer, etc. when I was abroad when I was eighteen. I discovered the delights of Spanish sangria, which I enjoyed with my mom at every meal. I have also been able to enjoy wine in Ukraine and Germany, as well as beer in Switzerland and Ireland.

Vodka in Russia

Enjoying sangria with my mom in Toledo, Spain

Ukraine

Wine in Heidelberg, Germany with my mom

A beer in the Swiss Alps

At the Guinness Brewery in Dublin

When I finally hit 21 on November 29, it was not my first liason with alcohol. I have been very lucky and much of my experience thus far has been quite international. 

My taste in wine is generally sweet. Cupcake is my big go-to brand when I am in a hunch about what kind of wine to get. I also really liked the Barefoot red wine when I tried it, and it is also a big go-to brand for my red wines. However, I am always willing to experiment and try new things, especially when it comes to alcohol. Like I always say, I'll drink just about anything as long as its alcoholic.

I think my experience with alcohol can be summarized by something one of my Australian friends (they know how to party!) I met in Ireland said: "Nothing brings people together like alcohol!" I definitely can attest to that. It is a great way to meet people, especially abroad in different countries with strange people you've never met before. While I, of course, encourage responsible drinking, loosening up with a few beers at a local bar in Galway is a great way to meet locals and suddenly become best friends with people you've only met minutes ago. 

Like they say, When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Have a beer with some Irishmen. Visit a vineyard in Italy or France. Take a shot of vodka in Russia. It's surprising just how much you can learn about a culture just by sharing a drink.