THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Buckhead Brewery & Grill

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Buckhead Brewery & Grill Restaurant Review:

This sloping, barnlike structure outlined in lights is built to look as if made of logs. Under the right wing, gleaming copper vats announce the brewery part of this large, Tallahassee-based operation. In the bar, watched over by stuffed moose and elk heads, guys gather to watch sports on TV and slurp the very good suds. Each location has its own brew master, and once a brew master develops a popular draught, it's shared with the other locations. Gary Essex, the brew master at this location, is famous for his Red Hills Amber, which won second place (Silver Medal) in the World Beer Cup held in Aspen, Colorado in 2002. Families come for the large portions of mostly well-prepared, straightforward American food. We find the beer-cheese soup too thick and bland, and the blue-cheese dressing lacking in character, but we're fans of the crisp beer-batter french fries. The buffalo shrimp, available in four degrees of hotness, are perfect at medium (the second degree). The game dishes include a good buffalo burger, venison, and buffalo tenderloin, served with a zingy red-pepper butter. Also located at 872 Buford Hwy. at GA. 400, Cumming, 770-887-6070; 3655 Old Milton Pkwy., at Brookside Pkwy., Alpharetta, 770-475-3662. A fourth location is under way in Peachtree City, and should be finished by early 2003.