The Best of Ellijay, Blue Ridge & Jasper Funpaper issue 7 | Page 27

jump in with how you can buy your beer at Out of the Blue.
Tom: Yes, they have a Growler station. I have my beer on tap there, so the only place you can
actually get my beer and take home is to go to Out of the Blue and you get what’s called a
growler which is a glass jug and they will fill it for you. So you can enjoy my beer in one of our
local restaurants, or buy some at Out of the Blue to take home and enjoy.
Thia: The Growler Station is a brilliant idea. What’s the funniest thing that has ever
happened to you in this business?
Tom: Making beer is kind of like having small children, because it will ‘pee’ on you; it will poop
on you. It is extremely temperamental; one day it’s fine and the next day it’s not, so you constantly clean up after the beer; non-stop cleaning because it poops, and it pees and it spits.
Just recently, I was doing some transferring and there was something wrong with the hose.
Usually I work when there’s no one in the restaurant because it’s just easier, but sometimes I
do some things in there and I had the door open and there was a number of people in there
and I was on my knees at the pump and the hose came off and the beer literally shot up and
shot me up my nose and these people were laughing and I was grabbing hoses; grabbing
levers trying to turn things off and I got a beer facial which I’ve had many time.
Thia: I would love to see that. Too bad we didn’t get a picture of that.
Tom: Yeah, I try to avoid those.
Thia: Hey, let’s reenact it!
Tom: (Laughs) Making beer is kind of messy.
Thia: It seems fun though and I’m really happy for you that it’s obviously growing.
What’s the craziest kind you ever made? You’re going to tell me this pumpkin right?
Tom: That is pretty crazy because it has a lot of ingredients. I also have a beer called Hive
Kicker, which is not on tap right now, and it is 11% alcohol and features all wheat and North
Georgia honey. Oh! I made a beer/wine hybrid with Cartecay Vineyard.
Thia: Sounds like you like to experiment! Do you have a memorable beer drinking experience?
Tom: I know exactly how old I was because I was there in 1977 when Elvis died. I would
have been 16. The drinking age was 18 but, you know, we were kids and we were a little bit
more European I think, than we are now. Our parents were a little bit more indulgent maybe.
Beer was fine. So, anyways, my sister was thinking about going to school at Marquette University, which is in Milwaukee, so we went there. My dad took us to the Pabst brewery, and
even at 16, when I’d had more than a few beers, I remember when I went there I had PBR
which is not high quality beer but, when you tasted it at the brewery, I distinctly remember
how good it was….I never forgot that. It was like ‘wow! This actually tastes different. It tastes
really good’ and part of it again is the whole freshness factor. Freshness is a big deal with
beer. Not that there’s anything wrong with imports or anything like that. I’ve spent a lot of
time in Munich and I love German beer but, think about it; you know, they make their beer in
Germany, they put it on a ship and it comes across the Atlantic, sits in New Jersey until it finally gets to your place; it’s been through a lot and I can attest to you that it does not taste
anything like it does when you’re in Germany. But, what everyone wants is a local brewery;
because, people feel connected to their local brewery. They feel like it’s theirs. That’s why I
named it Fannin Brewing Company. That’s why the names of the beers are Hiawassee Golden
Ale, Dahlonega Gold, and Toccoa Brown.
Thia: That's why you use natural local ingredients.
Tom: Yes. I've made a Strawberry Blonde beer with strawberries from
Mercier’s. I use Georgia honey; grain from small farmers in North Carolina;
the wine juice from Cartecay Vineyards. I mean, not every beer, obviously,
but that’s a big part of what I want this brewery to be is that it’s truly connected to North Georgia and this part of the world.
Robb: So, freshness is the key though?
Tom: Freshness is a huge part of it. My beer is unfiltered and un-pasteurized. Unfiltered is also a big part. I don’t filter my beer. When you filter, it
makes it a little bit more stable; it makes it a little bit easier to ship but,
also when you filter you also take away a lot of the taste
Thia: I heard you were moving.
Tom: Yes we’re moving to a bigger location and I’m doing a Kickstarter
campaign and it’s to pay for a lot of the expenses to move. The Kickstarter campaign goes live February 8th, so, if people could go on kickstarter and look for Fannin Brewing Company and make any kind of
contribution I would appreciate it. Our new address will be 3758 East
1st Street, Blue Ridge. We expect to be open in that location by June,
and have brewery tours and tastings on the weekends.
Thia: That's cool idea.
Robb: Any truth to the rumor that Fannin Brewing Company is
going to hire that Norwegian bikini team?
Tom: Yes. But it's a German team. (laughs) And only if my wife approves.

have
you can er
Now
raft Be
FRESH C e!
at hom

If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?

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