After graduating from the University of West Georgia with a degree in marketing, Josh Rachel moved back home to Alpharetta, and with a little help from his father, Jon Rachel, he found what he thought would be a temporary job at Brew-Depot in Alpharetta. Little did Rachel know, he would come to embrace the process of craft brewing and find a passion that has culminated into a new business venture.
When talking to people about home brewing and reaching personal satisfaction, Rachel said home brewing is just like any other hobby, and if someone wants to make good beer and they have a stove and kettle, they can make beer. It all comes down to equipment and time spent. Rachel said he often uses the analogy of golfing and brewing when talking to new brewers entering the hobby.
“A set of good golf clubs is going to cost you some change, and the same would apply in buying a brew rig that goes in your garage and takes up a whole parking space,” he said. “The hobby of home brewing can be as small or big as you want it to be with three key areas to brewing: cleaning, patience and temperature.”
Rachel himself has been home brewing now for more than four years, but soon he won’t be just brewing at home. Rachel and his business partner, Suwanee resident, Michael Lundmark plan to open Jekyll Brewing on Macaroni Drive in Alpharetta this year.
Rachel explained that the name Jekyll comes from Jekyll Island, which was where the first Deep South brewery was located.
“Before Mike and I became partners he had already been busy with his homework and established the name Jekyll,” Rachel said. “After the two of us paired up, it actually melded very well with my background and eagerness to portray a southern brewing establishment. By taking that piece of history and bringing it to Alpharetta, we are making it known that we are proud to open the first brewery.”
Rachel said they chose Alpharetta as the location for the business because of its great environment and interest in supporting a local brewery, and being located near Georgia 400, Alpharetta offers a great opportunity to capture the market of craft beer drinkers in the surrounding cities as well.
Kickstarter, a funding platform where pledges help to fund specific projects, has provided Rachel and Lundmark with a creative way to crowd fund the venture through networks to raise money to help with build out.
Once open Rachel said his sense of accomplishment will come from doing what he loves as a hobby and making it a reality – “creating great beer for people to enjoy.”
He added that it’s not about money but to appreciate the love for beer.
“When brought up in conversation, I hope people understand and recognize all the good things that we plan to do for Alpharetta and the many organizations that we would like to get involved with,” Rachel said. “I’m somewhat of a slow roller when it comes to talking about what I’m doing and hope to just show you in a glass of craft brew.”
For more information, visit jekyllbrewing.com.
