The long-awaited brewery from the ingenius homebrewer, Brian Roth, and beer policy guru, Rick Goddard, opened its doors (and its taps) on May 14^th.  Roth and Goddard have been forward-thinking throughout the development of their joint venture and have set the stage for Southern Brewing Company to become a regional powerhouse.  Though the current facility is relatively modest in size, the crew at SBC have already designed and engineered expansion plans to make efficient use of the entire 15-acre site, including an outdoor ampitheater.  

Roth has been a fixture in the local beer scene for years and has earned a reputation as a “mad scientist” of sorts in the homebrewing community.  His penchant for experimentation plays out in the laboratory at SBC – an uncommon inclusion for a brewery of SBC’s relatively small size – where Roth and Co. are cultivating local yeast strains, including varieties cultured from the Cherokee Rose (Georgia’s state flower) and wild azaleas (Georgia’s state wildflower).  SBC’s current portfolio of brews features traditional beer styles made with both traditional and unconventional ingredients, which has become the industry standard for craft breweries.  Consumers of craft beer display a particular affinity for beer that comes with a story – a rare hop strain, a creative brewing technique or perhaps a hyperlocal ingredient like SBC has unearthed.

Southern Brewing Company picked a great time to start brewing, as domestic craft beer sales in the U.S. have climbed 17.6% and export sales of craft beers have shot up a whopping 36%.  Craft beer still accounts for only 11% of the total American beer market, but that number has increased steadily for the last decade.  There is still plenty of room in the market and creative breweries like SBC are poised to become major players.