Roswell is known throughout metro Atlanta for its bustling downtown restaurant scene and pretty (if pricey) housing stock. But for locally crafted brews? Not really.

Until recently, Roswell didn’t have much of a brewery scene. After 1920s bootleggers made their products in the North Georgia mountains, they passed through Roswell on their way to busy Atlanta, said Elaine DeNiro, the Roswell Historical Society’s archivist.

So, as usual, the action stayed ITP.

But no more. Breweries are popping up left and right in Roswell, and brewers seemed pumped about the area’s prospects.

In 2013, Gate City Brewing Company began producing beer in a Woodstock brewery’s space before opening a tasting room in 2016, right in the middle of downtown Roswell.

“Roswell was always our first choice,” Pat Rains, Gate City Brewing co-founder, said. “[Co-founder Brian Borngesser] and I have lived in Roswell for many years and have been very involved in this wonderful community. We’ve seen firsthand how wonderful this community and the people that live here are and wanted to build our business in Roswell.”

Abbey of the Holy Goats, Georgia’s first female-owned brewery, opened in 2016, choosing Roswell to promote business in the neighborhood, said Asia Coleman, private events & tasting room coordinator.

And now, two more breweries plan on opening toward the end of the summer.

From the Earth Brewing Company is setting up shop on Holcomb Bridge Road with space for 128 to 138 customers, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. A fourth brewery, Variant Brewing Company, will be around the corner from Gate City Brewing.

“I’m reluctant to give an exact opening timeframe as I’m learning more and more that there are parts of the process that catch snags and slow us down,” Matthew Curling, Variant’s owner and brewer, said.

Right now, Curling is working on the space: 3,700 square feet with a taproom in the front and a brewery in the back.

“I was born and raised in Roswell and have spent most of my life here,” he said. “While we considered other places, they just didn’t feel right. I’m excited to be able to start the brewery here and share my passion for craft beer with the community that I grew up in.”

— Adina Solomon