In 2022, Gainesville’s Left Nut Brewing rebranded and became Liquid Nation Brewing Company.
Curious about that, I stopped in at LNB, as it’s now known, and took a tour with founder and company president, Nilanjan “Pap” Datta. Asked about the original name of the brewery he opened in 2016, Datta laughed.
“Since beer was my passion, I knew I had to do something like this,” he said. ”And when someone asked, ‘What are you going to call it,’ I said, ‘I’d give my left one to open a brewery.’ And I did give up a lucrative career to do something I love. That’s what that name was all about.”
Datta has a degree in electronics engineering, and he worked for Hewlett Packard for some 27 years. Early in his career he landed in San Francisco, where he visited Anchor Brewing for the first time, and suddenly discovered the world of craft beer.
“That’s where I was bitten by the beer bug,” Datta said. “My career at HP involved a lot of international travel, and wherever I went, I would go find the local breweries in Belgium, Germany and Czechoslovakia. I became passionate about it, so I started home brewing.”
Though it’s a bit off the beaten path along a stretch of Atlanta Highway, LNB is near I-985, and not far from downtown Gainesville.
The 30-barrel, four-vessel brewery includes rows of fermentation and conditioning tanks that abut the taproom and bar, giving the space an industrial feel.
Credit: Bob Townsend
Credit: Bob Townsend
Currently, there are 27 rotating beers on tap, and a core of eight canned beers in distribution. Best-sellers in the Georgia market are Lappland Blonde Ale, Sweet Mangolia Mango Golden Ale, and Hooch Shootin’ New England-style IPA.
Datta admits that the brand change helped give LNB a foothold in more beer bars and package stores.
“Right now our biggest challenge is keeping up with growth, which is a good thing,” he said. “Since we did the brand change, we’re getting into places we never thought we’d be in, like Trader Joe’s (in Georgia). They’ve been very supportive of us.”
As for awards, Razzmanian Devil, a raspberry and passionfruit sour ale, was declared the best beer at the 2023 Suwanee Beer Fest, and you’ll find the trophy prominently displayed on the LNB bar.
But more than the beer or the medals, Datta is most proud of the community that’s grown up around the brewery. And he pays tribute to that community in the new name. According to the brewery website, “... ‘Nation’ represents our diverse community of team members, benefactors, and supporters working together towards a common goal.”
“I think what we have created is a very convivial and relaxed environment for all types of clientele,” he said. “We’ve had drag shows. We’ve had biker rallies. We’ve had benefits for the Sheriffs’ Association. Part of our ethos is for people to talk and interact, and that’s why we have those big communal tables.”
Liquid Nation Brewing, 2100 Atlanta Hwy, Gainesville. 678-827-6678, liquidnationbrewing.com.
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