For fans of the Roaring Twenties Radler from Tucker Brewing Company, there's good news and bad.
Starting with the bad: The first batch of this Helles lager with fresh-squeezed lemonade vanished from the tap room fast, like bonkers fast.
The good: Folks are going to get another chance to taste this popular brew, really soon.
When asked why Tucker Brewing is bringing back the Roaring Twenties Radler, Head Brewmaster Tucker Eagleson simply answered "Just the fact that we sold out before summer actually started," as an obvious reason.
Tucker Brewing produced this radler in hopes that it would quench the thirst of guests through the summer months. Instead, it was gone in 21 days.
"We were hoping to sell out by August," Director of Marketing and Community Development Eliana Barnard said. "We launched it May 1 and it was out before the end of May, three weeks into May."
Fans were crushed. From comments on the brewery's social media claiming tears of sadness to stark realizations that the supply had run out, it was clear people who got ahold of the first batch weren't ready for the end.
Toying with fans a little, Tucker Brewing asked if they should make another batch. The response was overwhelming. "People are addicted," Barnard joked.
Of course there was a plan already in place for a second batch. It was an easy decision. But maybe it shouldn't have been so easy.
The amount of work that goes in the Roaring Twenties Radler is excruciating, but rewarding.
Eagleson said the brewery burned through five pallets of lemons to add into the brew. While that already sounds like a lot of work, take into account the brewers hand-juiced them all in house on a juicer the size of a small vending machine.
The process took an entire week as the machine took each lemon individually, sliced in in half, and juiced it into a reservoir which was then transferred into a 5-gallon jug that was stored in a walk-in cooler. The process yielded 23 jugs of lemon juice. All were added into the new batch.
"I’m not sure a lot of breweries would go through the amount of this work," Eagleson said. "Brewers tend to pride themselves on being super-efficient with things. I wouldn’t say this is the most efficient way of going about our business. But, with regards to taste, I think it’s up there."
Area businesses loved the process, though. The office park next to the brewery commented all week during juicing about how great the area smelled.
Fans will get to advance past smelling the lemons to actually tasting the beer soon. Pre-orders have already started and the tap room will start pouring the Roaring Twenties Radler on Sunday.
In addition to the radler from Tucker Brewing, there are a number of other new brews to taste around Atlanta this weekend: