Macon Magazine

February/March 2025| maconmagazine.com 71 were formed here. "Macon beer is equal to any made," read an advertisement for Acme, which famously produced a lager called American Queen. Local beer took a turn for the worse when Prohibition arrived. In a story captured with lively twists and turns in The Telegraph, Acme Brewing was forced to dump their unsold barrels in 1918 (Maconites, eager for free beer, apparently brought buckets to capitalize on the misfortune). Though it was repealed just 15 years later, an interesting Prohibition vestige that impacts consumers today is known as the three-tier distribution system. To regulate alcohol as a vice, this meant brewers must sell their product to a third-party distributor, who then sells it to retailers. This historically made it difficult for small producers to compete – while thousands existed before Prohibition, less than 100 were left by the mid-1960s. This didn't just favor mega-breweries like Molson Coors or Anheuser- Busch InBev, it also changed the flavor. Uniformity, a long shelf life, and low-cost ingredients were prioritized, leading to an international reputation that Americans drank watery and flavorless beer. Anchor, with its distinctive steam beer style, was about to shutter its doors. In this environment, an unlikely savior stepped in to change the game. Fritz Maytag III was an Iowa-born heir to the eponymous washing machine empire. Stanford University brought him to California, where he casually enjoyed Anchor beer. Hearing of the imminent closure, he bought the brewery for a couple thousand dollars, with no knowledge of the industry. What was the pitch? Just like Maytag made their brand reputation around having higher-quality parts, and thus a justified higher price point, he believed that making distinctive beer with higher quality ingredients would take off. It took a decade before it became profitable, but eventually Anchor's steam beer was a stylish status symbol for San Franciscans. Maytag believed quality was sacrificed by big production, so he taught other brewers nationwide about the business of "microbrews" and a revolution was born. Many of these were able to brew punchy, flavorful styles of beer that had become rare. Anchor Porter debuted in 1972, for example, as the first porter brewed in the U.S. after Prohibition. At the time, it was the only dark beer sold in the country. In Georgia, the law was just amended in the last decade for brewers to sell beer directly in small amounts from their taprooms. It's an experience Maconites have been able to watch in real time with the arrival of Piedmont Brewery and Kitchen, Ocmulgee Brewpub, Fall Line Brewing Co., and the now-defunct Macon Beer Company. This tracks with a boom for craft beer, both in Georgia and nationwide. To honor Macon's bicentennial in 2023, Fall Line collaborated with Piedmont for an honorary brew called American Queen, acknowledging Macon's long beer history. T H E L O N G R O A D T O C R A C K I N G O P E N A C A N Though Fall Line opened its doors in 2020, the journey started years before. Andrea Smith, sales manager, has worked with the company for 12 years, stretching into their ownership of Just Tap'd – then known as Lazy Dog Growler. Smith said that friendship with the Kressin family, the owners who brought the first craft beer-specific business to Central Georgia, was the motivation for her passion. "Our kids went to church together, and we became friends. For them it was, 'Hey, we're starting this business.' For me it was, 'Hey, I'm a stay-at- home mom and can I help you?' I'd been in customer service my whole life. I'd love to come and help out, get out of the house a little bit." Smith said that she caught on to the work right ABOVE Park Bar serves Fall Line beer to patrons in the heart of Atlanta's downtown.

• Cover