Wild Heaven Beer has opened its third brewery and taproom in DeKalb County’s Toco Hill neighborhood, where it is partnering with Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q.
The on-site brewery features a 93-seat taproom, 48-seat event space, an outdoor courtyard and a full kitchen with a smoker.
In addition to Wild Heaven beers, customers can expect wines from Georgia farm wineries, as well as house-made cocktails.
Credit: Courtesy photo/Chris Rank
Credit: Courtesy photo/Chris Rank
To succeed in the craft beer business these days, “you have to have good beer to start with,” said Nick Purdy, who is co-president of Wild Heaven with brewmaster Eric Johnson. “The beer has to be the star of the show. You have to have a good outdoor space. You have to have some food program beyond the food truck rotation. And you have to have gotten past having only beer.”
To that end, wine now accounts for 10% of total beverage sales at Wild Heaven’s other locations.
Credit: Chris Rank
Credit: Chris Rank
Also, Toco Hill Wild Heaven offers more cocktails than at the other locations and has the Fox Bros. frozen orange drink on tap.
And food is another important component. “That’s sort of the model now,” Purdy said. “Part of it was understanding what we were even allowed to do in Georgia. That was a long, fraught exploration. But it feels like we have all the things that we’re allowed to do now. This is the first time we’ve created something new with all of that in mind.”
Credit: Chris Rank
Credit: Chris Rank
Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q — which has four other metro Atlanta locations — serves a full menu of smoked meats, sandwiches and sides at the new Toco Hill brewery. That includes the Texecutioner sandwich, stacked with chopped beef and smoked jalapeño cheddar sausage. New snacks include Buffalo cheddar pork rinds and chicken fried mushroom sticks.
The taproom, where customers place orders at the counter, features two bars with 12 taps each. Seven of those will be core beers from the Avondale location, including Emergency Drinking Beer and Sunburst IPA, while four will be dedicated to beer brewed at Toco Hill. And as a tribute to the Texas roots of Fox Bros., the brewing team is making a beer similar to Shiner Bock.
Credit: Chris Rank
Credit: Chris Rank
The design of the Toco Hill location includes repurposed doors and a fireplace from the former Petite Auberge, and in the courtyard are picnic tables from Kevin Gillespie’s Revival. The courtyard, which will offer live music on Friday nights and Saturday and Sunday afternoons, also features Adirondack chairs and wooden barrels under two large trees adorned with string lighting.
Purdy envisions more Wild Heaven breweries.
“I don’t think we’re done. I think four or five are the right number for us,” he said. “We view a brewery as a place that’s the easiest, most relaxing place to meet up with friends. You’re not tied to a particular table like in a bar or restaurant. You can move around if you want. And we’re still about all the things we make.”
Wild Heaven. 2929 N. Druid Hills Road, Atlanta. 404-941-7559, wildheavenbeer.com/toco-hills
Credit: Chris Rank
Credit: Chris Rank
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