If Macon Drinks It, They Will Brew It

There are many beer destinations in our country.  One of these, Denver, is kicking off the Great American Beer Festival today, which is the largest beer festival in the country.  In fact, Colorado's governor is the co-founder of Wynkoop Brewing, located in Denver.  Oregon offers up the largest number of breweries per capita, while Asheville, NC carries that title for an individual city.  California has the largest number of breweries in the country and reinvented hoppy beers.  In Wisconsin, nearly 1 in every 3 beers sold is a craft beer.  The pacific northwest boasts the largest hop fields in the US and is responsible for most of the hops that define the flavors of American craft beer.

These cities and states had to get their start somewhere, as people weren't drinking craft beer in 1970.  In every case, a few daring individuals had the idea that they could open a brewery and offer up a local alternative to the huge brewing corporations.  Their friends and neighbors liked the new and exciting beverages, and a risky idea became a stable business plan.  Americans wanted more, and therefore more breweries opened.  State laws changed to support small businesses instead of mega-corporations and one brewery at a time, these states became world renowned for their brewing achievements.

Unfortunately, Georgia is behind the curve.  We all know that because the numbers don't lie.  We are 47th in the country in breweries per capita in 2013, and that's considering 2013 saw a 30% growth in craft breweries in our state.  That's also considering that Atlanta can claim two of the top beer bars in the country with the Porter Beer Bar and the Brick Store Pub.  State laws need to change to favor small brewing businesses, but we'll get there the same way everyone else did - one brewery at a time.

Something different in the beer industry just happened right here in Macon.  While it surely wasn't the first time to happen, it is a rare occurrence and I've never witnessed it before.  Macon was just handed a beer culture.  Over the past few years, local businesses have been interested in offering a more interesting selection of beer, especially downtown.  Growler stores, popular around the country, are opening in middle Georgia in response to recent law changes and have been doing well.  Macon is getting there one brewery at a time.  In fact, Macon currently has one brewery, which illustrates where our Progress lies, pun intended.

So what happened?  Macon-Bibb passed a law that allowed our growler stores to sell pints.  This sounds simple enough.  It's an additional line of revenue for stores only allowed to sell carry-out products.  But what it creates is something far different.  In most cities, a profitable beer culture needs to be established before anyone risks opening up a 50, 60, or even 100 tap bar.  That's a lot of beer to go through, and it's an expensive setup to build.  You need enough people to buy that much beer before you start selling that much beer.

This is essentially the Field of Dreams scenario.  If we build it, they will come.  What was anticipated to be an additional side business, has created a beer culture.  Lazy Dog Macon was the first to obtain the new license, and they're busy every night.  Macon is now the home of a 64 tap beer bar, and you can even take beer home with you.  That's something you can't do in Atlanta.  Growler Spot is set to obtain their permit at the start of 2015, which will add another beer destination to our map.

Five years ago, Macon was known for southern rock, a prestigious university and good southern cooking.  It's possible that in five years from now, you'll be able to add craft beer to that list.  If this experiment holds, it proves out the craft beer business model in Macon.  Macon Beer Company proved that we were willing to support a local brewery.  Now Lazy Dog has proved that we're willing to support a bar that only serves craft beer and wine.  No Bud Light, no liquor, no food (other than light snacks).  The opening month has been so successful that they've just extended their regular hours.

Congratulations, Macon.  We may not have built it the traditional way, but it's up to us to make it successful.  If we continue to support our existing and future craft beer businesses, who knows where we could be in five years?