Galactic Space Circus | ABV 6.6%

BJCP Style: Specialty IPA

Hops: Galaxy

Malts: Unknown, Oats

Brewery: Creature Comforts Brewing Co.

City: Athens, GA – 271 W. Hancock Ave.

When visiting the Atlanta metro area, a craft beer enthusiast has a number of great choices to scratch that craft beer itch. That being said, no visit would be complete without a trek about an hour and twenty minutes Northeast of downtown to Athens, GA to visit Creature Comforts Brewing Co. This brewery is one of the fastest growing breweries in the Southeast, due to its diverse line up of high quality core beers: Automatic Pale Ale, Classic City Lager, Bibo® Pilsner, Tropicalia® IPA, Reclaimed Rye®, and Athena Berline Weisse. Chris Heron (CEO), David Stein (VP of Brand Development & Creative), and Adam Beauchamp (Brewmaster) combine to form a powerful trio of business savvy, creative branding, brewing precision and deep community involvement. Creature Comforts doesn’t follow trends, they set them and improve upon them. For this beer review, I am very proud to bring you a fine example Georgia craft beer in Galactic Space Circus Hazy IPA (6.6% ABV). This is a wildly popular seasonal release in Georgia that craft beer fans look forward to around June each year.

Galactic Space Circus is a single hop hazy IPA utilizing Australian Galaxy™ as its focus hop. This hop variety, the most popular one from Australia, is a standout when used as a single addition; allowing its natural citrus and tropical fruit aroma characteristics to excel, while providing the needed bittering characteristics to provide some balance to the grain bill. It sounds easy to accomplish on paper, but it’s tricky in execution because if you step over the line too far with the hop addition, you can easily end up with the phenomenon of hop burn. Anyone that has drank many double dry hopped hazy IPA’s has probably experienced this a time or two.

There are a few characteristics of hazy IPA’s that can be a turn off. One many hazy IPA’s suffer from is a thin mouth-feel. Granted, some beer drinkers like that, but most do not, as it is a defining negative characteristic of mass produced American lagers. Creature Comforts solves this issue by the precision addition of lactose and oats to the recipe. The result is a much fuller mouth-feel than many hazy IPA’s provide. Another is the issue of bitterness. Galactic Space Circus walks a fine line here, exhibiting a fairly aggressive bitterness profile on the front end; however, it drops off quickly in the aftertaste. Everyone has a different tolerance level for bitterness in beer. For me, I enjoy the bitter profile of German Pilsner; but do not a West Coast IPA. Galactic Space Circus tightropes right down the middle between the two styles in my opinion. Granted, that’s a pretty wide gap, but as someone who does not enjoy a highly bitter beer, it allowed me to delight in the fruit forward characteristics of the hops while not being overly sticky and sweet.

To wrap up my review, let me comment on the can design. This is an area that Creature Comforts really excels at. Frankly, I have a real pet peeve with breweries that put out a label that is so overly artistic that it is difficult to read. I appreciate the creativity, but at the end of the day, I want to be able to fairly quickly identify the name, style, ABV and other characteristics of the beer the brewery wants me to know. The label design for Galactic Space Circus is unique, attractive and readable. For more examples of the brewery’s attention to detail, visit their core beer selection here. What you will find is a combination of names and designs that thoughtfully reflect the community and stories that Creature Comforts wants them to reflect.

If you find yourself in Atlanta for a few days, be sure to head over to Athens and check out the uniqueness of the city and several outstanding breweries that include: Creature Comforts Brewing Co., Akademia Brewing Co., Southern Brewing Co., Terrapin Beer Co., Normaltown Brewing Co. and Athentic Brewing Co. Home to the University of Georgia, Athens, GA has lots of shop and great restaurants, making it a fun place to hang out for a day. Be sure to check it out.

Thanks for reading. Until next time remember, Let Us Drink Beer!

As always, please drink responsibly!

I would dare say this might just be one of the best Milk Porters on the market. Creature Comforts introduced Koko Buni Milk Porter in October of 2014 as their first seasonal beer. There have been a few tweaks along the way; however, it’s basically the same recipe today as it was back then. It was a big hit then and is still a much anticipated release today. What makes it so special? All the ingredients are perfectly harmonized and balanced start to finish.

As is typical of Creature Comforts, they source some local ingredients for additions to the recipe; coffee beans from 1000 Faces Coffee and cocoa nibs from Condor Chocolates in Athens, GA. They reached outside of Georgia to Ethereal Confections of Woodstock, IL for additional cocoa nibs. The results are a silky smooth Porter with just the right amount of cocoa nibs and coffee to play well with the roasted and chocolate flavors from the dark malts grain bill.

Koko Buni is jet black and pours to a fluffy tan head exhibiting very good retention. You won’t encounter any hops aromas in the nose; but you be delighted in the distinct coffee, cocoa and roasted malt notes that drift lazily from the frothy head. The mouth-feel is full bodied, soft and silky smooth. Every sip brings complex, yet balanced mix of roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate flavors laced with coconut. There is a very mild baker’s chocolate-like bitter sweet character that flows start to finish. The finish is very pleasing and medium in length.

As you can tell, this is definitely a favorite Porter of mine and I look forward to it coming out every year mid to late fall. This is one of those beers you feel right at home with on a snowy winter evening in front of the fireplace; but also don’t mind pouring right into your favorite coffee cup on a cold Saturday morning. Creature Comforts has made a nice supply of 12 oz. cans available throughout it’s markets.

Thanks for reading. Until next time…Let Us Drink Beer!

As always – Please Drink Responsibly.