USA, GA: Bandwagon Brewing Company already open for business

The Bandwagon Brewing Company, located at 33 W. Central Ave. in Downtown Moultrie, is open for business, Yahoo News reported on December 16.

The brewery will be open Wednesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Sunday, from 12:30 until 9 p.m.

The brewery broke ground in April of this year and held an open house during the Lights! Lights! event on Thanksgiving night that gave residents a sneak-peek inside and a preview of what was to come.

"I want to see it develop into a gathering space for local people. A place for locals to bring their out-of-town guests," said Bill Kimmerly, co-founder of Bandwagon Brewing Company and head brewmaster.

Harrison Isaacs, founder and president of Intrie Capital, the parent company of the Bandwagon Brewing Company, said that his love for his hometown was what solidified his desire to bring an asset like the brewery to the downtown area and he was excited about the possibilities of what the venture could do in terms of being a positive impact on the community.

"It is a fascinating thing, though, brewing beer. I didn't realize, not only the science behind it, but also just the art. That's something I was kind of unaware of," Isaacs also said.

When it comes to the beer that they are brewing, Kimmerly said that his philosophy when he was crafting a recipe was to try and go back to the roots of where the style was born. So, for example, if he's brewing a pilsner, which is a German-style beer, he wants to use malts from Germany, use hops from Germany and try to incorporate some of the subtle techniques of making that style that comes from the original makers.

"It's all part of what I see as telling the story of a beer, which, in many cases, is telling the story of a region, or a country or a time," he said.

"I think a good word to describe that is 'authentic,'" added Isaacs.

The craft beers that are available, on draft, right now, are a golden ale, an IPA, a double IPA, a Belgium ale and an American lager.

"So, those are the beers that are in various stages of maturation, right now. The next wave will be a pilsner, a Kolsch, a brown ale and a Belgium double," Kimmerly said.

The next roll-out for the Bandwagon Brewing Company will be food and Isaacs said that they intend to stay authentic with their food as well, which will be cooked in a brick oven.

"Changes are brewing," said Isaacs.