Gate City Brewing Co. and Variant Brewing First-Ever Collaboration Beer Out Now

Neighboring breweries Gate City Brewing Co. and Variant Brewing in Roswell, Georgia, which are a mere 8-minute walk away from one another according to Google Maps, have released a collaboration beer that celebrates just how physically close they are to one another in terms of location.

The beer, called (fittingly) Walking Distance, is a kettle-soured Biere de Garde and is available now at both breweries. The full release from the breweries is below.

Founders, Brian Borngesser and Pat Rains of Gate City Brewing and Matthew Curling, Owner of Variant Brewing got together in July and decided it was time to create a unique brew for the growing craft beer community in Georgia. Many people ask whether the two breweries see each other as “competition” for the other, but that is definitely not how the guys feel.  

"This collab gave us the opportunity break any misconceptions that are out there.  We hope that this release will show that it is okay to visit our friends who happen to be within walking distance”, states Borngesser.

Craft beer has become such an integral part of social culture in Georgia, with Gate City and Variant playing a huge role in the Roswell community. Canton Street has been a long-standing destination for residents looking to shop, eat great food, take in a little history and now to enjoy a good local brew. Out of their mutual love for the tasty beverage, Borngesser, Rains, and Curling have all developed a friendship where they not only help each other out occasionally, but also encourage everyone to try both brands.

For a few days in July, both teams of brewers gathered at each location to work on getting the recipe together and start the brewing process. In an effort to make each beer slightly different, the guys decided to use a different fruit combination. Gate City opted for passion fruit and guava, while Variant chose dragon fruit and guava.

"Walking Distance is a celebration of Roswell Beer," stated Curling 

Walking Distance is a kettle sour biere de garde which is a malt accentuated farmhouse ale with sweet caramel and toffee-like finish. The idea of the name, Walking Distance, is a play on the fact that both breweries are not only within walking distance of each other, but also have a shared passion for the Roswell community, and the love of craft beer.

On August 22, Gate City and Variant  will open their doors and release the collaboration to the public at 2pm. Each location will offer pints along with a commemorative package which includes limited edition t-shirts, crowlers, and glassware.