Variant Brewing Co. is bringing more craft beer to the heart of Roswell

UPDATE: Variant Brewing Co. has set their Grand Opening for Nov. 3-5, 2017. Event details.

The taproom is nearly complete, beer is in the fermenters and kegs, and Variant Brewing is almost ready for opening day. Founder and Brewmaster Matt Curling has a date in mind, however he’s holding off on announcing it just yet. He goes on to say, “I don’t want to set a date until I know that every beer we brew… is at a quality that I appreciate and like.” Hard to argue with that.

Variant is nestled on Norcross Street, a very short walk from Roswell’s busy Canton Street district with plenty of shops and restaurants nearby. Curling tells us the brewery design was inspired by an old warehouse, pumphouse, or train station both inside and out. The high ceilings are braced with large metal trusses and the entire taproom is accented with plenty of natural wood. Large windows adorn each side and allow in ample natural light. If you found Variant on a snow-covered hillside in Colorado it wouldn’t feel out-of-place.

While many breweries open with just a few offerings to get things rolling, Variant plans to open with a full house. Expect 12 to 14 taps of year-round and seasonal offerings and, of course, many variants of those offerings with 2 nitro taps as well. In the future nitro cold brewed coffee will be available as well for those that can’t (or prefer not to) drink beer. We sampled a few of the brews that will be served up, and were thoroughly impressed. With no hesitation I can say that So Soft & So Smooth NE-style IPA is one of the best I’ve ever had. Brewed with all Cashmere hops and flaked oats, this has a huge tropical fruit aroma and coconut, lemon, mango, and melon flavor. I’m in love with this hop, and this beer. We also sampled one of their first Fall seasonals, Uncle John’s Spiced Brown Ale brewed with vanilla, cinnamon, and organic apple cider. This was unique spicy-tangy beer and definitely very Autumnal. Rounding out the sampling was their yet to be named Oatmeal Stout as well as a coffee variant. The base beer is delightful but the coffee variant is really where it’s at. Whole roasted coffee beans were added to the beer for 72 hours at 32° and the result is a super-rich, very coffee-tasting coffee stout. Bring on the cold weather. Not really, I hate cold weather, but I do love some cold weather beers.

Go big or go home, Variant plans to open with 12 to 14 beers on tap

Other beers slated to be on for opening day include year-round offerings Valerie Ann Saison, Norcross Street IPA (hopped with Columbus, Centennial, and Simcoe), and a Blonde Ale. The Oatmeal Stout is also a year-round offering with a Gose and Hefeweizen coming in seasonally. Variants available will include VA II saison refermented with blackberries, Blonde Ale refermented with pineapple and coconut, Gose refermented with lime zest and coconut as well as a second variant with raspberry and lemon.

For special events the taproom is outfitted with a full catering kitchen. Although no plans are firm yet we’re told this could be utilized for special events and pop-ups. Seems like a pancake breakfast with a stout release would be a great way to break it in.

Looking to the future a barrel program will be started within a couple of months after opening. There is currently room for 30 to 40 barrels, depending on barrel size. Although Curling would like to start a sour program the current space won’t accommodate that, but it’s on the list. Going into 2018 a canning line is planned. Variant will can their core beers in 12 oz 6-packs with special offerings in 16 oz cans. On site they will also offer a Variant Pack with 3 of their core beers and 3 of the variants and seasonals.

Initially Variant will be open Thursday through Sunday, with plans to open Tuesday and Wednesday in the future. Weekday lunchtime hours are planned as well once they get their groove going. We’ll be watching for an official launch date and will be sure to share that info. We can hardly wait.

Variant Brewing Co.

66 Norcross Street

Roswell, GA 30075

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Days and Hours

– Thursday through Sunday initially, hours TBD

– Tuesday and Wednesday will be added in the future as well as lunchtime hours