Macon Beer Company prepares for grand opening

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Macon Beer Company is preparing for it’s grand opening in July. Since state lawmakers passed the Beer Jobs Bill, one business owner has been figuring out how to take his product to the next level.

The Macon Beer Company can’t wait for July 1st. That’s when the new Beer Jobs Bill goes into effect, which is good news for beer lovers in Middle Georgia.

“We’ll be able to provide more beer to the consumer when they’re here,” said Jeremy Knowles, the President of Macon Beer Company.

That’s why the brewery will continue to offer its tours every Saturday.

“We had to make economic sense to do the tastings. We’re not a big business where we do this huge marketing fund so we see the tastings as a marketing effort,” explained Knowles.

Come July, you’ll be able to try up to 36 oz. of beer instead of 32, and buy packages of up to 72 oz. with your tour.

“You can come in and get a six pack of beer. Macon Beer Company will probably start out with growlers and then probably work our way up to some bottles,” said Knowles.

While Knowles is excited to show off his tasting room, he thinks Georgia could do more to help the beer business.

“If you look at the surrounding states there has been a big boom in other states that we haven’t seen in Georgia until just recently,” explained Knowles.

Even though The Rookery is only a few blocks away, Knowles’ beer has to travel to Atlanta before getting dropped off at the restaurant.

“There’s a lot of rules like that that have just been left over from a long time ago,” said Knowles.

But he believes the Beer Jobs Bill is a small win for breweries in Georgia.

The Macon Beer Company will start offering Thursday evening tours from 5:00 to 8:00 on June 25th. The grand opening is July 18th.