While politics, team rivalries, and whether you’re a dog or a cat person may divide us, a few joys in life remain to bring everyone together. Among them are good music, good food, and a good beer.
Fortunately for Lake Country, all three of those simple pleasures have been combined. Brewed by Eatonton’s Bruzze Brewing, Live at The Plaza is a new blonde ale coming to cans soon.
The new brew represents a collaborative effort between The Plaza Arts Center, Bruzze Brewing, and Visit Eatonton, the tourism arm of the Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce.
“This is something that internally we’ve wanted to see come to fruition for a long time,” Chamber President and CEO Maggie Milner said at a recent Putnam County commission meeting. “We’ve seen other destinations create their own beverages for their community, so I think this is the start of us being able to brand and speak to different people. It’s a different type of souvenir.”
An Eatonton mainstay, The Plaza, brings arts and culture to the area, so when Visit Eatonton sought to promote the arts and The Plaza wanted a specialty beer to sell at its events, the perfect combination followed.
“Working together with The Plaza Arts Center and Bruzze Brewing to create ‘Live at The Plaza’ was a fantastic experience,” E-P Chamber Tourism Director Hannah Tyson said. “This unique beer captures the vibrant artistic energy of our beloved town.”
Bruzze Brewing co-owner Peggy Teufel explained that Tyson and Taylor Surman, marketing director at The Plaza, approached the brewery last year with the idea of a collaboration beer. The idea stemmed from seeing other successful “tourism beers,” such as Golden Isles IPA from Silver Bluff Brewery in Brunswick and A Night on Ponce by Decatur-based Three Taverns Brewery.
“We knew we wanted a sippable beer for our patrons,” Surman said. “Being able to design a beer label has been a dream of mine for a while, and this was the perfect storm to make that happen.”
Live at the Plaza is a blonde ale with a crisp, light flavor featuring notes of fruitiness and a hint of malty sweetness.
“This is a beer that everyone will enjoy,” Teufel promised.
Live at The Plaza will officially debut on Aug. 15 with a beer release party at Bruzze Brewing (170 Scott Rd., Ste. 2, Eatonton), marking the first day the new beer will be available in the brewery’s taproom.
Justin Huff, a local musician known for playing at restaurants all over Lake Country, will be playing live from 6-8 p.m., and a food truck will be onsite, too. The event is free to attend; however, beer will be purchased through the brewery.
“Something for everyone is what we were going for. Just like there’s something for everyone at The Plaza,” Surman said. “Whether it’s a cover band or a theatrical performance, The Plaza welcomes everyone, and we wanted a beer to showcase that.”