While the backyard-like ambience leaves something to be desired, fans come for the beer and face time with friends. Regulars love double IPA Mother Hoppin’ (dry-hopped Amarillo gives it a nice edge). Funk Weisse is the first in the FunkleTarp sour series, a refreshing Berliner style ale that sometimes gets a fun grapefruit treatment. The brewery plans to kick off canned production in late summer or early fall, so in addition to crowlers available on tour day, fans will be able bring home six-packs of Cascade Killa IPA, session ale Bantam Weight, and of course, Funk Weisse.
Good to know: This tiny brewery on East College Avenue now boasts some heavy hitting neighbors on the booze scene—Three Taverns Brewery, Twain’s Brewpub, Wild Heaven one-half mile away, and corn whiskey maker Independent Distillery just a couple of doors down. But when Tom Stahl first opened for business in 2012, the 3,000 square-foot brewing space was the first of its kind in Decatur. Once a biochemist at the University of Georgia, Stahl home brewed for about a year before realizing his hobby was becoming his ideal profession. He would eventually attend the American Brewer’s Guild in Vermont in 2005, then head west to learn the trade at Left Hand Brewing Company in 2006. The build-out of the brewery took longer than anticipated—Stahl tells visitors that seven different investors jumped ship once the Great Recession hit, but he was eventually able to open for tasting and tours in 2013 (Stahl welded much of the stainless steel equipment himself).
Address: 731 East College Avenue, Decatur
Hours of Operation:
Saturday, 3:30-7 p.m.
Website: bluetarpbrew.com
Kids: OK
Pets: Nope