USA, GA: Norcross Brew Co. aiming at summer opening in Norcross

Hobbyist brewers are ready to take their operation large-scale with a new brewery in Norcross, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported on January 16.

The team behind Norcross Brew Co. have plans to open a brewery this summer at 650 Langford Drive, What Now Atlanta first reported and co-owner Britt Lancaster confirmed to the AJC. Though the project’s working name is Norx (pronounced as Norcross) Brewery, Lancaster said it might change to Cultivation Brewing Co. as a nod to “growing something from the ground up,” he said. After two years of brewing on a pilot system, Lancaster, who previously owned a landscaping business and has a background in engineering, said he’s ready to take his “broad spectrum of beers” to the public, including a variety of lagers and ales, New England-style IPAs, pale ales, porters and stouts, as well as expanding its offering of sours.

Also on the menu will be hard seltzers and non-alcoholic beverages including root beer and flavored seltzers. “The market in Georgia is very ripe for more breweries,” he said. “But you have to be able to differentiate yourself.”

To that end, he plans to offer “good quality beer and a nice place to hang out,” complete with a taproom “where adults can enjoy themselves but that still has a family-type environment.”
The brewery won’t serve food, but will likely host local food trucks. Beer can be consumed on the premises or purchase to take away, likely in cans or 32-oz. growler-style cans. Once the brewery opens, look for happy hour specials and live music.

Lancaster said he worked with a couple of brewmasters to help him perfect his brewing.

“We learned from some knowledgeable people in the industry,” he said. “We made some mistakes along the way, but that’s how you learn, and I think our beers have gotten better and better.”

The design of the building will pay homage to the building’s past purpose as home to Lancaster’s landscaping business, as well as incorporating a “railroad aesthetic” as a nod to Norcross’ past as a railroad hub, according to Evonne Connally, an interior designer with BoggsVickers, the firm designing the space.

Look for elements including a back bar designed with an old shipping crate and shelving set against a turf wall. Beer tanks will only be separated from tables with a cable railing, “so you’ll be right in the midst of it,” Connally said.

When it opens, Norx/Cultivation Brewery will join Social Fox Brewery, which is set to open soon in the Skin Alley area, making it downtown Norcross’ first craft brewery.

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