In its fourth year of operation, Atlanta-based Eventide Brewing has added a fifth style to its “Great Beer Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated” lineup. It also is expanding capacity by 75 percent, which means 365 barrels will now flow out of the brewery each month.
The number that this writer and craft beer enthusiast still focuses on the most, however, is four: that’s how many doors down Eventide Co-Founders Nathan and Haley Cowan reside in our Brookhaven neighborhood. When my generous neighbors moved to our leafy street in 2009, I had no idea how my luck would grow.
(READ: My Lucky Break: How I Got a Job in Craft Beer)
“It’s a people business for sure,” Nathan, a former mechanical engineer, tells me. “We’re proud to work with and attract a lot of good ones who care about good beer and about supporting Atlanta’s craft beer community.”
You know the saying that “Friendship is service.” From our Atlanta street and beyond, the Cowans have shown that in a tasty and tireless way.
Another saying that now rings true in my life: “Keep your friends close, but keep your brewery neighbors even closer.” (It’s something like that, right?!)
How to Make Friends with a Brewer: 6 Simple Rules
With great pride, I can say that I have achieved one of the ultimate goals in life: having a neighbor launch a brewery. Should hard work and a little bit of luck ever put you in the same situation, here are some of the rules that’ll help you avoid appearing to be too much of a fanboy, potentially bringing an end to your good fortune.
Rule 1
Make sure your brewer neighbor feels respected for his other talents and abilities. If he wants to fix your lawnmower and the lock on your front door, let him do it. If he helps you clear a fallen tree and haul off some old deck furniture, then more power to him. After all, you should care about the total person (whose day job totally rocks).
(READ: 9 Breweries to Follow on Instagram)
Rule 2
When walking the dog, do not loiter in front of your brewer neighbor’s house for more than 45 minutes. (Also, Mrs. Brewer may frown on your continual gestures toward your empty 32 oz. mug.)
Rule 3
If your brewer neighbor doesn’t measure up in some important aspects of the man code — like not knowing a whole lot about sports or favoring skateboarding over golf — just let it go. And realize that you’d go to see the championship of the North American Tiddlywinks Association if your neighbor was organizing the tailgate.
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Rule 4
Even a brew bromance has its costs and obligations. You might as well listen to (and learn from) your neighbor’s ample beer-making knowledge. For heaven’s sake, don’t just stare at his (ice) chest!
Rule 5
If things get rough and tumble out on the town, show some solidarity, if not muscle. There are plenty more bars to get kicked out of; finding more professional brewing neighbors is far more complicated.
Rule 6
Finally, like beer, word of your neighbor’s brewery should be shared. It’s the least you can do. After all, the brewer brings together black and white, liberals and conservatives — heck — even Florida and Georgia fans. Let’s see a lawyer or accountant neighbor do that!
CraftBeer.com is fully dedicated to small and independent U.S. breweries. We are published by the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group dedicated to promoting and protecting America’s small and independent craft brewers. Stories and opinions shared on CraftBeer.com do not imply endorsement by or positions taken by the Brewers Association or its members.
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