Macon Magazine

February/March 2025| maconmagazine.com 73 TOP A fresh six pack emerges, to be added to a growing pile of finished beers ABOVE Empty cans prepare to go through the assembly line to be filled. going to restaurants, and seeing what people were ordering. There was a lot of legwork figuring out what the consumer desired." To get noticed, brewers want to make their product unique. Smith points out that Daily Rind, Fall Line's wheat ale, is brewed with tangerine puree and orange peel – a slightly sweeter feel that makes it more distinctive. Another example is their spring seasonal, the Yoshi. It's a nod to Macon's famous 300,000 Yoshino cherry trees. A light pink label and notes of cherry reminds their customers everywhere of the brewery's hometown. On Untappd, a beer lover's social network, this local-yokel brew is going far beyond where the Yoshinos bloom. Denise recorded she's drinking a Yoshi at home, purchased at Sigman Bottle Shop in Conyers. David snapped a pic of his on a white tablecloth at 306 North in Valdosta. There's a pizza kitchen in Athens, a fraternity house at Georgia Tech. It's making an impact in Central Georgia, too. Carlos added a photo of his in a frosted Bruce Springsteen mug in his Macon kitchen. Terry posted that he grabbed his at the Shopette on Robins Air Force Base. And so, a beer becomes a symbol of a beloved place. Ideas for new beers are laid on the table in a yearly scheduling meeting. Seasonality can determine taste – sours are popular in the summer, more malted and darker beers dominate colder weather. There are experimentations with a given partnership (like the Ol' Toby Mercer-themed beer) or flavor profile (a peach beer for Georgia). The smallest batch they can brew is 15 barrels, too much for the taproom alone, so Fall Line puts half in the market as a limited time release. Mainstays are constantly cranked out at higher volumes. Then, it's time to brew. "Most of our brewing staff has honestly just walked into the brewery," Smith said, and became passionate about the craft. Others came from the Kressins' previous venture, and Smith mentioned that transplants to Macon with beer knowledge have sought them out. Geoffrey Wright is one of them, working on a cold January day to make Cloudbreaker IPA. He's learned "one million things" on the job: "When I was in college, I thought making alcohol must be such a cool, old tradition. It goes back thousands of years, to the ancient Egyptians. It's still kind of magical to me, the way it works. There's a lot of labor involved, so it's a kind of exercise, like CrossFit or lifting." Wright shows off a screen that just contains a wall of different timers ticking on his phone. These clocks impact when he needs to add ingredients, change the temperature, or otherwise tinker with the fermenting blend. The general method of making beer is always the same – malting, milling, mashing, and so on – but what makes indie brewers' work interesting is the little tweaks in ingredients, timing, or temperature that manipulate flavor. "I look at craft beer as your grandma's tomato soup or spaghetti sauce," Smith explained. "You're going to have your same basic recipes. But whatever that person's taste is, they'll have their spin on it. If they like a particular hop, they'll use it a lot. Even in the same style, there can be tons of new flavors. Domestic beer is… going to taste the same every time. Craft beer is individualized to the maker, and I really respect it." It takes weeks for a beer to ferment to a finish. Next, there's quality control to ensure the taste is uniform and the team begins the canning process. Tin cylinders cycle around a conveyer belt in neat rows, waiting to be filled, sealed, and pressed into six-packs. Cans go first, kegs go last, according to Smith, which is a way to eliminate excess foam. The beer gets placed on pallets stretching up towards

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