A new brewing company headed to Buford aims to bring live music, a laidback vibe, and a variety of beer to the area.
Meander Brewing is in the works now, a project from longtime friends and brewers Michael Branam and Paul Bushell.
“We’re trying to target that feeling you get when you go to a lot of breweries, where it’s laidback, where you’d want to hang out and listen to music and things like that,” Branam told What Now Atlanta.
Expect acoustic performances, family-friendly games like cornhole, and a beer to suit every taste.
“We’ll be doing everything from a light lager to getting into more of the Belgian beers,” Branam said.
For the food program, they want to link with local eateries to provide bites along with the beers, aiming to create a system where that restaurant’s food will be served at Meander Brewing. They’ve been talking to local restaurants, and they’ve already got one in mind. They’re also seeking to expand the patio area, creating a warm and welcoming outdoor space.
This is Branam and Bushell’s first time opening a brewery, but their interest and experience in the craft goes way back, both at home and professionally, getting a taste for commercial brewing by working with Monkey Wrench Brewing in Suwanee. They’ve also won competitions for their beers, which led to more and more people suggesting they make it official and open a brewery.
“It got to a point where everybody was saying it all the time,” Branam said. “We’ve been looking for a place for several years before we found what we think is gonna be a really great spot in Buford.”
The two are excited to be part of a vibrant area with charm and character, where they feel that investment from the city has helped businesses thrive.
“Buford has just a great sense of community,” Bushell said. “It’s also a draw in the sense that it’s got a beautiful historic downtown.”
The two forged a friendship over their mutual interest in brewing, first meeting in 2006 when Bushell was playing cards at a friend’s house.
“My friend said, ‘You have to try this beer,'” Bushell said. “He took me to Mike’s. We crashed his son’s high school graduation party. That’s how I met Mike. He said, ‘How about a pale ale?’ and poured me one. I was blown away. I wanted to get into it. We’ve been brew buddies ever since.”
The name of the company is a testament to Branam’s innovative spirit – and the pair’s ability to laugh at themselves.
“Mike is a jack of all trades, a true craftsman in whatever he does,” Bushell said. “In his backyard, he put in a waterfall that came down and went into a pond. It was beautiful. He had that ever since I knew him… He said, ‘I’ve gotta redo my pond.’ I said, ‘Is it leaking? It’s beautiful as it is.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, it doesn’t meander enough.'”
To Branam, the waterfall looked too contrived. So he ripped it apart and moved several tons of rock to renovate the waterfall in order to make it, at last, meander enough.
“I wanted it to look like it was a real waterfall you’d find in nature,” he said. “After that, my family thought I was nuts. All my kids, their spouses, every time I would do any project, plant some plants, they’d say, ‘Is it gonna meander?'”
Naturally, Bushell suggested that as the name for their venture. Now, the two are preparing to open in the next several months, as early as May or during the summer. Equipment should arrive in early March, as they navigate through the waters of permitting and polishing off the design.
“There’s a lot of different breweries out there, very good ones,” Bushell said. “But we can set ourselves apart with the beer and the environment we want to make at Meander.”
