Savannah Sojourn--1
by Kurt Epps—The PubScout
We’ve always wanted to see the city Willam Tecumseh Sherman presented to Lincoln as a Christmas gift in December of 1864—Savannah, Georgia.
And with CCF (Covid Cabin Fever) setting in and restricting so much freedom of movement, we decided to head south for a few days with friends for the four-hour trip.
What follows is an account—reasonably condensed to cover three days in three successive posts— of our visits to local eateries and pubs, and there were many from which to choose. I’ve included a star rating for each place based on quality of food, diversity of beer and general ambience, with five stars being the highest.
Day One
We only saw the sun on the day of our arrival, but the overcast, sometimes rainy, foggy skies that filled the rest of the trip did not put a damper on our enthusiasm. We stayed in and walked through the Historic District to the extent that we earned the right to any extra calories our meals might have provided. I’d also strongly suggest the trolley tours, which allow you to hop on and off all day if you’re limited in your walking and you find an area that piques your interest.
Bay Street housed our first lunch stop in the Moon River Brewing Company—the only brewpub in the city. I thoroughly enjoyed my Beer Brat sandwich and a house IPA, and my mates raved about the Mac and Cheese; but when Brewer Mike Livings appeared to greet us, he provided us with other beer samples.
As usual, I ask brewers to bring me a sample of the beer in which they take the greatest pride, not necessarily their best selling beer. Mike provided an exceptional beer he calls “Thoughts and Prayers,” an abbey brown that was just this side of sour, but absolutely delicious. I’m not a sour beer fan, but I could have easily made this a session beer had we not other places to visit. Hopped with Czech Saaz and brewed with dark Belgian Candi Sugar, it was malty, perfectly balanced and thoroughly palate-pleasing. I could see why Mike was proud of it.
We sat outside in the Bier garden to enjoy the sun, but the interior is most inviting, darkly intimate—and haunted. Mike shared that the building itself was 200 years old and had seen various businesses within its walls, but because it was once a hospital for malaria and yellow fever patients, it had also seen its share of death. The number of regular ghostly occurrences within would seem to testify to the fact that many weren’t ready to leave. Either that, or they like the smell of malt.
Mike’s brewery put out 1150 bbl last year, but this year so far 550 have been produced, likely a reflection of Covid’s impact. Interestingly, the business got its start from the prodding of a well known Colorado beer maker named John Hickenlooper, formerly of Wynkoop Brewery in Denver. That Hickenlooper eventually became a governor (and presidential candidate) would indicate that brewers can indeed aspire to greater things.
For my money, though, the “Thoughts and Prayers” was sufficient to spur a brewer on to beer immortality. Rating—★★★★
A solid afternoon of healthy perambulation set up our appetites for dinner, and while we had received recommendations from other regular Savannah visitors, we decided on a place where the menu looked good next to the historic Marshall House hotel called 45 Bistro.
We struck gold with the choice. Ty ordered the Duck, and despite its being “ravenously good,” he wound up taking a substantial part of it back to our hotel fridge for later consumption.
Angie ordered the special for the evening—a Red Snapper-over-Risotto dish she claimed was absolutely fabulous.
The missus, a.k.a. The Crab Cake Queen, went with her gut and discovered a perfect “10” Crab Cake, something quite rare in her experience, and, though there were 8.5’s, and even a 9, 45 Bistro's was not matched again in Savannah during our stay.
My Shrimp Carbonara with Pasta was outstandingly good as well, and, after some solid, super HopLin' IPA’s from Southbound Brewing with our meals, the evening ended with Ty and I enjoying some Grand Marnier, a drink I had not had in some twenty years.
Rating—★★★★★
Fully sated and having already logged five or so miles on foot, we headed back to our hotel for some well-earned rest and to see what the next day would bring.
