Monday Night Eye Patch Ale — The Original That Started the Monday Night Legend

The Review

Before Drafty Kilt won a GABF gold medal, before Space Lettuce fogged out anyone’s Tuesday, before the Birmingham Social Club opened its 10,000-square-foot presence in Parkside — there was Eye Patch Ale, the American Pale Ale that Monday Night launched in 2011 and built their entire operation around.

It pours a clear, pale amber-gold with a white head and a nose that’s moderate and approachable: a bit of citrus hop, biscuit malt, nothing that telegraphs “this brewery is going to win national medals.” The palate is balanced and clean — caramel malt up front, a restrained hop bitterness in the middle, a dry, slightly crisp finish. It is, in every honest sense, a very good American Pale Ale.

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What makes Eye Patch historically interesting is what it represents: three guys from a Bible study in Atlanta brewed this on Monday nights until it was good enough to contract-brew in South Carolina, then good enough to build a 20,000-square-foot brewery, then good enough to expand to Birmingham and become one of the Southeast’s most respected craft operations. The beer that started it is still on the menu and it still tastes exactly like what it is: the beginning of something.

Order it at the Birmingham Social Club on a slow January Monday and think about what starts small.

Quick Stats