2016 Small Business ROCK STAR: Reformation Brewery

We're on Day 4 of Georgia Small Business Week, and we couldn't be prouder of all of our 2016 Small Business ROCK STARS!

  • Creature Comforts Brewing Company, Athens-Clarke County
  • D&J Plastics, Quitman County
  • Reformation Brewery, Cherokee County
  • IACT Health, Muscogee County
  • ViziTech USA, Putnam County

Every year, the Small Business ROCK STARS honor a few of Georgia's stand-out small businesses that have shown outstanding leadership, innovation and growth over 12 months. This week, we will highlight each of the five winners in a featured blog post—giving you an inside look at the top small businesses in the state.

ROCK STAR: REFORMATION BREWERY

ReformationBrewery-1200pxWhen asked why Reformation Brewery exists, the answer is simple: to redeem beer culture. This ROCK STAR out of Woodstock employs 10 people and is redefining what local beer should be.

'We built our entire business model on this concept of enjoying well made beer as a gift and sharing that gift with others,' said Spencer Nix, CEO of Reformation Brewery.

And Nix wanted to enjoy the process. Many breweries obtain a lot of capital and skip to the largest equipment they can afford, but Reformation did the opposite and started with a few investors and opened a production brewery on a 1-Barrel Brewhouse. They've since scaled that equipment to a 3-Barrel Brewhouse, a 7-Barrel Brewhouse, and recently installed the first High Efficiency Brewing System (HEBS) in the State of Georgia.

'Learning each step of the way and connecting to the organic relationship between a growing community and a growing business is the most rewarding part of starting Reformation.' –Spencer Nix, CEO, Reformation Brewery

PackageTypes_Reformation-1200pxSince starting in 2014, the company has gone from zero paid employees to ten and saw $700,000 in sales in 2015. But its impact on people and the community is what fuels their business and has launched them into the new phenomenon of 'beer tourism.' The brewery has drawn visitors from as far away as Michigan, and the Keeping Room welcomed 12,000 visitors to its downtown Woodstock location in its first year.

So why start a brewery in Georgia? 'Because it's home,' Nix says. 'Home to a growing population relocating from other parts of the country. Home to great small communities where small business thrives. Home to world-class resources the city of Atlanta attracts. And home to where I'm from, and all meaningful adventures start at home.'

You can find Reformation Brewery  on social!

 

For more information on small businesses in Georgia and how you can start or grow your own, visit Georgia.org/Small-Business.