Georgia breweries ready to sell cold ones just in time for football season

When the first major weekend of college football season kicks off in September, a Macon brewery will take advantage of finally being able to sell its product directly to patrons.

Macon Beer Co. will become one of the breweries and distillers across the state to benefit from a new law that goes into effect Sept. 1. Breweries will then be able to sell their beer at their facilities for on-premise consumption and offer larger quantities for people to take home.

For years, breweries have been able to provide samples of beer only as part of tours of their facilities. But starting next month, a customer can purchase up to 288 ounces of beer on a given day from a brewery or distiller — a much larger amount than what can now be given as part of a tour.

And unlike the majority of new state laws that took effect July 1, this one starts in time for football season, which suits Macon Beer Co. brewer Yash Patel just fine.

“If you’re watching a college football game, you don’t want to have a tasting of beer. You want a full one,” he said.

In the last six years, Macon Beer Co., multiple growler stores, Just Tap’d, and at least two brewpubs, Ocmulgee Brewpub and Piedmont Brewery and Kitchen, have opened in downtown Macon and in other parts of the midstate.

Macon Beer Co. now brews eight varieties of beer, and in October a new one — a pumpkin ale dubbed Macon Bears — will debut. The new law should also help increase the public’s awareness about the brand, Patel said.

Soon, the company will also offer more guided tours of the Oglethorpe Street facility and make upgrades to the lobby.

“We’ll be able to sell more right out of here, which will actually increase awareness of what the product is,” Patel said. “When you’re able to see it in a package, it’s easier to identify versus seeing it on a tap handle.”

He added, “Once we’re able to do direct sales, which is us selling pints over the counter, we may have to brew a little bit more to keep in house. Right now, what we’ve been doing is selling the majority of our stuff to our distributor so he can distribute to restaurants, bars.”

Broadening the reach of the brands is a sentiment being echoed across the industry as the new law goes into effect, said Martin Smith, executive director of the Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association.

Smith credits Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle with ensuring that the bill was approved by the Legislature.

“It helps the retailers, helps the brewers, helps the distributors,” Smith said. “Georgia is the fifth largest beer producer in the nation. The number of breweries is growing. This adds to that and (helps owners) find ways to market that and grow the brand.”

Macon Beer Co. is expecting more sales from the new law, but Patel’s not sure just what the impact could be.

“It’s a wait-and-see thing that will have to do with demand,” he said. “At this moment, we’re not even running full tilt as far as our production capacity, but hopefully after this launch we will be able to run it all the way.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2017 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Georgia breweries ready to sell cold ones just in time for football season."