I was in Savannah, GA last month. As with many of my out-of-town trips, I was attending an academic conference. This time is was the annual meeting of the Southern Regional Science Association. My last visit to Savannah had been in 2007, so I was keen to reacquaint myself with the city. As usual, in advance of the trip, I did my homework on local craft breweries. My research uncovered six breweries – Coastal Empire Beer Company, Hop Atomica, Moon River Brewing Company, Service Brewing Co., Southbound Brewing Company, Two Tides Brewing Company. During my stay in Savannah, I managed to visit three of them – Hop Atomica, Moon River, and Service. Of the three, it was Hop Atomica that I found most interesting.

Opened in 2020, in the city’s Baldwin Park neighborhood Hop Atomica is both a brewery and a distillery. The brewery was about a 40-minute walk from my hotel, so when I arrived, I was ready for a beer. The bartender set me up with Base Tan, an American Pale Ale that came in at 6.1% ABV. After another Base Tan, I wound up my visit to Hop Atomica with New Math, a Session IPA that came in at 3.5% ABV.

There were a number of things that I really liked about Hop Atomica. First, apart from good beer, the brewery had a bartender who was friendly and knowledgeable. I admit that I was there at a time when there were few customers around and so Adam, my bartender, was in a position where he could engage with me and answer my questions about the beer and the brewery. For me personally, a knowledgeable bartender enhances my brewery experience. Many breweries recognize that the way in which brewery staff interact with patrons is important. Indeed, many craft breweries train their staff in the art of customer relations. In the case of a brewery, it is not enough to be friendly and attentive. Staff members, particularly bar tenders and wait staff, have to be knowledgeable (and passionate) about the product they are selling. This is where staff training takes center stage. At Bear Republic Brewing Co. in Rohnert Park, CA, for example, new bartenders have to complete Beer Boot Camp, during which they learn about the history of beer, specific styles, etc. New hires are also required to take and pass Cicerone’s Certified Beer Server Exam within 90 days of starting employment. In preparing for the exam, brewery staff will learn about a range of topics, including about different styles of beer, the use of proper glassware, how to pour beer etc.

The second thing that I liked about Hop Atomica, as I learned from my conversation with Adam, was that the brewery was housed in what had once been a gas station. It was an excellent example of what is called adaptive reuse – taking an unused abandoned building, putting it to a new use, and thus breathing new life into it. Adaptive reuse is a common practice in the craft brewing industry – breweries across the United States can be found in old churches, fire stations, banks, warehouses etc. There are numerous advantages to adaptive reuse, including maintaining cultural heritage and slowing the pace of urban sprawl. It also gives beer drinkers like me a unique and interesting venue in which to enjoy a beer.

Third, Hop Atomica has a program whereby it supports local artists. As I learned from, Adam, the brewery serves as a rotating gallery for local artists who can hang (and sell) their artwork. While I was sitting at the bar, there was a young lady hanging artwork on one of the brewery walls. The artist was Mahsa Yousefi, the owner of Moon Child Studio. Mahsa’s medium is Surreal Psychedelic Art, whose purpose is to “to display, psychologically, the realism of the unconscious mind”. The art was eye-popping and certainly added a rainbow of color to what was, when I walked in, a bare white wall. Just last week, I was in Yellow Springs Brewery in Yellow Springs, OH and was pleased to see that this brewery also provided wall space to support local artists. Craft breweries have a reputation for supporting their local community. Whether it’s raising money for local charities, serving as flexible community spaces for activities such as yoga classes, or organizing family friendly bike rides, craft breweries are constantly looking for opportunities to support the community that support them.

While at Hop Atomica I posted on social media the fact that I was there. This prompted one of my friends to ask as to whether the name of the brewery had a connection to any local activity or historical event. In other words, did Savannah have some “atomic” connection. I had already left the brewery by the time my friend had posted the question, so I could not ask the bartender. But as always, there is Google, and a quick search showed that in 1958 there was a mid-air collision when an F-86 fighter plane collided with the B-47 bomber carrying a 7,600-pound (3,400 kg) Mark 15 nuclear bomb over Tybee Island near Savannah.  The collision saw the F-86 lose its wing and the fuel tanks of the B-47 suffered heavy damage. The pilot of the B-47, fearing the bomb would become detached during landing, ditched the bomb in the water below. Despite subsequent searches for the bomb, it was never found. Whether this event inspired the name of Hop Atomica I do not know, but it is a possibility.

Hop Atomica is a microcosm of many things that I like about the craft brewing industry – good beer, friendly and knowledgeable staff, breathing new life into a once abandoned building, and supporting the local community. Well done Hop Atomica.