‘Come have a beer, relax and feel at home.’ Construction is underway on Gainesville’s newest brewery

A new depot for craft beer is taking shape with the repurposing of some old, industrial bones in midtown Gainesville.

Renovations are underway on the 18,214-square-foot warehouse slated to house NoFo Brew Co. and Distillery by April 2023, offering liberationists a hoppy, sippable variety of spring flora.

Less than a 1-mile walk from the downtown square, the forthcoming extension of the Cumming-based locale sits adjacent to the Midland Greenway at 434 High St. SW.

Like its Cumming location, Gainesville’s NoFo will house both a brewery and distillery, as well as a fenced-in patio and firepit, a member’s lounge, private event space and a restaurant. 

The restaurant has garnered several applicants, but no tenant has been named for the space, director of marketing Eliana Barnard said.

A recommendation to award the brewery a $700,000 tax incentive for construction costs is pending approval by Gainesville City Council.

At the helm of NoFo Gainesville is head brewer Andrew Greene, who hails from NoFo Cumming, where he’s held the title of head brewer for roughly a year.

Greene, a Roswell native, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Georgia State graduate, has about seven years of brewing experience under his belt. His immersion into Georgia’s craft beer scene began with a bartending gig at Cherry Street Brewing in Cumming; from there, he dabbled in the packaging side of the trade at Jekyll Brewing in Alpharetta and the brewing process itself at Monday Night Brewing in Atlanta.

“I kind of just got the bug and started working jobs trying to learn as much as I could,” Greene said.

Amongst his first brews at Monday Night stands an IPA labeled “Formal Jorts,” tailored for occasions in which, according to its descri