Albany City Commission looks at multi-vendor solution to reopening downtown brewery

By Alan Mauldin

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ALBANY – When will the taps start flowing at the downtown Albany brewery is a question on the minds of Albany City Commission members after the city acquired ownership of the facility that closed in late 2024.

City staff have now been tasked with bringing options to the table for commissioners to consider as they work out the future of the facility,

The first decision commissioners will make is whether to accept the sole proposal received last year from a company that operates three microbreweries in Georgia and North Carolina.

Socius Beer Collective, which has breweries in Lawrenceville, Stone Mountain and Winder in Hendersonville, North Carolina, 

Mayor Bo Dorough requested a vote on rejecting the company’s proposal in late 2025 and on Tuesday he requested that this vote, which was postponed initially, be allowed to proceed during a future meeting. 

The city requested proposals in the spring of 2025, and Socius was the only vendor who responded. The company asked the city to invest additional funding into the facility, including a line of credit of $250,000 to cover operating expenses during the first years of operation if income does not cover expenses.

Socius’ proposal to the city also includes a food stall area, potential apartments or hotel rooms upstairs, a larger tasting/dining room and an enhanced beer garden.

With the city having taken title to the facility, which was in foreclosure at the time the city requested proposals, more potential operators may be willing to express their interest, the mayor said.

“I thought we ought to have clear title before we sent it out for RFPs (requests for proposals),” he said. “What I’m saying is I’ve got a right for this motion to be voted on before we have the presentation. My motion was to rescind it and put it back out” for new proposals.

City staff have been working to formulate ideas to give the brewery the best chance for long-term viability, City Administrator Terrell Owens said.

During its time in operation, the brewery tap room served as a social gathering place, offering events including Bingo, bands and farmers’ markets, among others, to bring people to the location in the 100 block of Pine Avenue.

Jacobs told commissioners that he recently took a tour of the brewery with former operator Dr. Joe Harris “Tripp” Morgan III and his brewmaster and that the equipment seemed to be in much better condition than may have been expected. The next step is to fire up the boiler and take the equipment through a cycle.

“The equipment is actually in pretty good shape,” he said. “There’s going to be some cost to fire everything up

“One of the things we’re concerned about is microbrewers across the country are closing. People are not drinking beer like they used to. It’s a different world than it was years ago.”

What staff is envisioning is a place with activities, including perhaps a game room, to bring in individuals who are not interested in craft beer.

“We’re a college town,” Jacobs said. “What activities would bring those folks to that facility? (Maybe) Dave and Busters on steroids. Nothing has been etched in stone. We are exploring. We’re still exploring options. 

“We are not going to sleep on this. We’re trying to figure out some other concepts to make it more successful for anyone.”

One potential idea is to locate multiple vendors at the location, one to operate the brewery itself and perhaps a restaurant and one to bring activities. 

One of Morgan’s main lessons was that the facility’s monthly utility bill, which ran around $7,000, was a major hurdle for one operator, Jacobs said.

“I think everything discussed lines up with our original proposal,” Socius Beer Collective partner and COO John Reynolds, who attended virtually, told commissioners. “We thought there should be (other) entities involved.”

Asked how long it would take to be up and running, Reynolds said he could not give an exact timeline. Acquiring the necessary licenses could take a couple of months, he said.

The brewery could likely be up and running in three or four months’ time, Jacobs said.

Seeking new proposals could extend the opening by another three or four months, Commissioner Chad Warbington said.

“I’m not wedded to any of these proposals,” he said. “My thing is it needs to be opened A-S-A-P.”,