In Short

Only by sneaking in the phrase “a case of the Mondays” could a brewery better capture the feeling of sticking it to the man with a bucket of hops and a dream. Monday Night Brewing leans heavily into IPAs, sours, pale ales and an endless stream of experimental varieties served out of a tiki hut (naturally).

Field Note

Beer is probably the best thing to happen to weekdays, so the name of one of Atlanta’s most interesting breweries certainly rings true. Built around the idea of pursuing beer brewing dreams rather than white collar jobs, Monday Night Brewing represents a small, mini-network of taprooms located in Atlanta and Birmingham with a backstory that starts at Bible study, as all great brewery stories naturally do.

As legend goes (or as their web site plainly states), Bible study discussion turned into a bit of home brewing turned into some driveway homebrewing (great upgrade) turned into 5 years of garage-based incubation before going pro. The network now includes two Atlanta locations that focus on unique offerings as well as a Birmingham extension opened during a global pandemic (gutsy) in April 2020.

The West Midtown location is the entry reviewed here, serving as the original and flagship location for the brewery. Striking is the remote feeling for a brewery that is very much not remote, a benefit of the somewhat winding directions that wind to the brewery’s front door. An outside patio underneath string lights provides a friendly greeting, opening up into a large warehouse-feeling space.

Eye grabbing is the “Tie One On” wall, a waterfall of neckties that nod to both the brewery’s logo of a loosened tie and maybe the worst fashion restriction ever concocted by mankind. There’s something satisfying about drinking a beer amid the glow of a the general ‘fight the man’ vibe created by the tie wall, the name and the very purpose of the brewery.

A couch-ringed fireplace (a fireplace in a warehouse?) provides a cozy nook to what is basically an enclosed concrete rectangle. A tiki-themed stand within he store (a tiki hut in a warehouse?) brings even more life to the space, with a handful of hop-heavy varieties poured from the small output (with matching merch to boot).

The Midtown location serves as the core brewing location with a specialty in small-batch, hop-forward IPAs, a cross-town Monday Night Garage outpost focused more on sours and barrel aging. With a few exceptions, beer varieties stick to a familiar band of IPAs, pale ales and sours. And while a handful of staples are recommended below, the real recommendation is to snag whatever is new and different, probably from the tiki-hut-in-a-warehouse small batch Hop Hut beer dispensary.

Blind Pirate (7.4%) Year-Round | Blood Orange IPA

There’s something alluring about fruit and hops slammed together, but that combo can sometimes wash out the flavors of both. Blind Pirate gets it right, with juicy hops cut with blood orange you can taste but doesn’t overwhelm.

Space Lettuce (8.1%)
Limited Release | Imperial IPA

If you can find it, drink it. This is a double dry hopped 70 IBU bomb that seemingly uses every hop variety available. Part of the brewery’s Black Tie line of limited availability varieties, if you can’t find this one, try another Black Tie option.

The Basics

Monday Night Brewing 670 Trabert Ave NW Atlanta, GA 30318 Classification: Neighborhood Brew

Connect