Popular metro Atlanta brewery Pontoon Brewing will close both of its locations by the end of the month.
News of the closure was shared in a post on the brewery’s Instagram account written by owners Sean O’Keefe and Marcus Powers. The brewery closed Oct. 12 for repairs, and will reopen Oct. 21, 22 and 28 “to sell a bunch of beer, hang out with our friends, fans and family a few more times and give our star a chance to earn a little bit of cash before we close the doors temporarily.”
For now, all events and bookings scheduled through the end of the year are canceled.
In the post, O’Keefe and Powers blame the failure of a distributor to pay for product as the primary reason for the closure, with hopes that the brewery will be able to reopen with a new partner or owner.
O’Keefe and Powers, along with a couple of other partners, opened the first Pontoon Brewing location in Sandy Springs in 2017 after brewing under contract at Thomas Creek Brewery in Greenville, South Carolina, and Coastal Empire in Savannah.
Located at 8601 Dunwoody Place in Sandy Springs, the 11,000-square-foot space provided a place for Pontoon to brew and sell its beers, as well as host tastings, brewery tours, food trucks and live music. Pontoon steadily expanded its distribution around the U.S. and in several European countries.
A second Pontoon location known as the Lodge opened in 2022 in a 33,000-square-foot industrial space in Tucker that also served as its main production and packaging facility.
Credit: Bob Townsend
Credit: Bob Townsend
“The primary objective of Tucker is production,” O’Keefe told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution soon after the Lodge’s opening. “This space will allow us to go up to 61,000 barrels. In fact, we’re very close to brewing now. It’s a really nice customized system, and we have plenty of room to grow. Our first full year, we’re estimating making 12,000 to 15,000 barrels.”
Pontoon’s year-round beers include One Ski, an IPA, and Crushing Waves, a Georgia Weisse. The brewery was also known for seasonal hazy IPAs, Italian Pilsners, fruited sours and imperial brown ales like Rainbow Smiggles, which uses Skittles and Trix cereal in its recipe.
It’s been a bumpy year for craft breweries in Georgia. Several breweries closed including Anderby Brewing, Candler Rail Brewery, Orpheus Brewing and Second Self Beer Co. Blackberry Farms Brewery in Lilburn closed in September and later reopened, though its future remains uncertain.
Credit: Bob Townsend
Credit: Bob Townsend
Atlanta Brewing Company, Atlanta’s oldest craft brewery, scrapped plans to reopen in the Underground Atlanta development after closing its original Upper Westside location in 2022, while Burnt Hickory Brewing closed its location in Kennesaw with plans to relocate.
“The brewery closures really highlight the sense of urgency in the industry,” Joseph Cortes, the executive director of Georgia Craft Brewers Guild, told the AJC earlier this year. “I think it’s pretty easy to say that none of these breweries closed for one single reason. But I think it’s also pretty easy to say that small breweries in Georgia operate in a highly restrictive system.
“In fact, it still remains one of the most restrictive systems of regulation nationwide.”
O’Keefe did not immediately respond to the AJC’s request for more information.
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