Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal wagered two six-packs of Creature Comforts’ Tropicalia beer to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker as part of a bet over the NFC championship game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
Tropicalia is the one of the most highly sought after beers from Creature Comforts Brewing Company, located in historic downtown Athens.
David Stein, a University of Georgia graduate, returned in April 2014 to open his dream brewery in the renovated Snow Tire Company. The facade still resembles a garage while similar rustic elements inside are incorporated into a modern design. “We did a lot of cool adaptive reuse,” Stein told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution IN WHAT YEAR. “We wanted to keep the building as much the same as we could.”
The main attraction at Creature Comforts is the brewery tour experience. Tours run on Tuesdays and Thursdays 5-8 p.m., Fridays 5-10 p.m. and Saturdays 1-6 p.m. Once a week, on Curious Tuesdays, the company releases a new beer that is available on that day only.
The tour experience costs $14, but is free on your birthday or discounted with a local ID. The package includes a tour of the facility, up to 72-ounces of packaged souvenir beer or a Creature Comforts glass and a bracelet with six tasting tabs, each redeemable for a 6-ounce.
Of the four staple beers offered, Tropicalia and Athena are the most popular. Bob Townsend of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution describes Tropicalia as a, “hoppy beer for people who think they don’t like hops,” a gentle IPA infused with undertones of citrus and passion fruit.
Athena is a variation of a classic German wheat beer called Berliner Weisse. Although it has a lower alcohol content than Tropicalia, Townsend says this refreshing, fruity beer is, “better than lemonade on a hot day.”
Creature Comforts has also generated a cult following around some of its seasonal beers, including Koko Buni and Cosmik Debris.
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Creature Comforts has company T-shirts for sale, but it also sells a line of merchandise called Get Comfortable, which is the brewery’s charity initiative that, “helps people in need get more comfortable.” All of the proceeds from the sales of Get Comfortable IPA #3, Get Comfortable products and family-friendly tours on Wednesdays are donated to specified local nonprofit organizations such as Sparrow’s Nest, Athens Area Homeless Shelter and The Ark. If you bring a donation item, they will take $2 off your tour price.
The brewery has received $475,000 from an Athens-Clarke County government economic development fund to help finance a second location in the historic Southern Mill complex, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. With the addition of this new venue, Creature Comforts will greatly increase the production of all of its beers; the output of Tropicalia, which is frequently in shortage, will nearly double. The new brewery location is expected to open in October 2017.