Meet Jessica Miller | Marketing Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Miller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Beyond the usual – great staff, nimble leadership, and good locations – the most important factor behind Reformation’s success is our community. At the end of the day, it’s not about us. We exist to serve as a gathering space for people to connect, commune, and create great memories together, whether that means celebrating milestones, reconnecting with friends, honoring loved ones, or just making the best of a beautiful Georgia afternoon.

We’re grateful for the love, connections, and community who have supported our business for the last 10 years and can’t wait to celebrate with our biggest party of the year this October 25-27th as we raise a glass for Cadence Fair and our 11th Anniversary!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Success to us is in service to our community. It’s not about us.

Building great memories and a sense of feeling more connected to each other are our top markers of success. Our biggest reward is being a small part of you living your best life, with Reformation in hand. Great service and quality beverages are an important piece of that success, but so is cultivating connected communities who love and support one another. It’s our greatest privilege to see you celebrate your moment at our venues and make memories together.

We’re also proud to support causes that make a difference in the communities we serve, with an emphasis on impacting the greater community, and listening to and serving others well.

Founded in October 2013, Reformation Brewery is a values-based company that believes why you drink is as important as what you drink. Serving communities in Canton, Woodstock, and Smyrna Georgia, our venues are a third space to gather around a good beverage and connect to the good things in life. From home brewing to hometown brewery, we welcome you to our backyard.

Co-founders Spencer Nix (a former pastor) and Nick Downs (an international pilot) met through church, and experienced first hand the community building impact of craft beer. Monthly “Brew Nights” in Nick’s backyard welcomed family, friends, and thirsty strangers to share in the good gift of a well crafted beverage amid good food & music and take part in the home brewing process and results. Shared stories, authentic laughs, and real conversation inspired the pair to take the leap from home brew to hometown brewery. Supported by a win from the Peach State Brew Off with their flagship beer, a Belgian Style Dubbel named Cadence, investors made the vision a reality and in 2013 Reformation Brewery became official with it’s first venue in Woodstock, Georgia.

Now serving both Cherokee and Cobb County, our “why” still guides our day-to-day decision making: valuing acceptance, authenticity, story, moderation, humility, & humor.

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Although Reformation has been blessed to serve three beautiful Georgia communities, the last decade has not been without its challenges.

Thanks in large part to consumer advocates and the work of the Georgia Craft Brewer’s Guild, in 2017 changes to legislation in the state of Georgia helped transform taproom sales for Georgia breweries. These changes allowed the first ever direct to consumer sales from brewery taprooms, allowing customers to purchase a single pint, small pours, and beer to-go up to 1 case per person, per day. The transformative nature of this change generated improved revenue and jobs in our industry state wide, and helped facilitate a shift toward a sustainable on-premise business model for small craft breweries in the state of Georgia, making taproom expansion for Reformation a reality. Prior to this change, breweries were prohibited from any direct sales and were instead permitted to offer limited free samples & guided tours along with the purchase of a souvenir glass. The Georgia Craft Brewers Guild continues to push for fair and free market changes to legislation in the face of outdated rules and regulations – including lifting the to-go beer limit, and allowing limited, regional delivery (both of which are still prohibited in 2024).

In 2020, the impact of Covid 19 created additional struggles as we reduced our day-to-day operations to a single venue (Woodstock) and pivoted sales to socially distanced outdoor consumption within the city limits, and limited to-go beer sales for curbside pickup. During this time, like many other service based businesses in our community, we sustained our business and our hopes to reopen responsibly with hopes & prayers. As eased restrictions allowed for responsible socially-distanced outdoor gatherings, business conditions improved. Reformation was blessed to be well situated outdoor spaces, and with the generous support from our customers – many of whom we consider family and friends – we reopened all venues as time and conditions allowed, holding to state and national guidelines for safety and social distancing.

Today, we owe our success not only to the dedicated staff who serve with hard work and heart, but also to the deep love from our community partners and nimble leadership that has a long view of sustainable service.

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One of the things that sets us apart, is that we view our venues as a third space – a gathering place for celebrating moments together and crafting memorable experiences. Wether you’re raising a glass to another year around the sun, cheering on life’s accomplishments, or honoring the life of someone lost – it’s shared moments that give us our “why” behind everything we do to serve our community.

Proudly serving some of the best craft beer in the state, we also offer house made, hand-crafted cocktails, spirits, non-alcoholic beverages, and locally roasted coffee. With nearby food options and a continual lineup of special events, live music, and community focused, family & dog friendly spaces – there’s something for everyone who wants to savor the good things in life.

In addition to our many free, all ages experiences from Reformation, we also offer private events for those moments when reserved space & special arrangements are called for. Start the conversation with our Private Events Coordinator at https://reformationbrewery.com/reservations.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One of my personal favorite spots in the city is Wrecking Bar. From the food, to the ambiance, to the beer – you can’t go wrong.

Although I don’t get to visit as often as I would like, it’s definitely at the top of my list alongside Porter Beer Bar and Brick Store Pub which played key roles in my early beer days. I’d also catch a show at Variety Playhouse and snap a pic in front of the Reformation mural by the talented R. Land.

Ponce City Market or The West End is worth a stop for variety sake – lots of great food and drink options.

For cocktails, you really can’t miss with ASW Distillery who has a great space and bar service. It’s a beautiful venue for private events too.

Buford highway – it’s really a destination as far as I’m concerned. It’s a must stop for anyone serious about expanding their culinary and cultural knowledge.

I haven’t visited since it was refurbished, but Hotel Clermont is on my list of places to check out. I’ve only ever been to the Clermont Lounge, which is something entirely different but also on my list for showing someone the “best time ever.”

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many who have been a part of our story, it’s impossible to mention them all. But we wouldn’t be where we are today without the love and friendship of Nick Downs and his wife Lori, along with our other founding members, our board, and team of investors. Spencer Nix, CEO and Cofounder, has loved, lead, and inspired the Reformation way since the beginning. We wouldn’t be where we are today without his willingness to listen, evolve, and change direction when needed.

It also goes without saying that our leadership team keeps the magic coming. Ryan Stockton, recently named our COO in 2024, has done just about every job at Reformation and has helped keep the fires burning since our start. We’d be far less organized and behind the curve without his guidance and get after it energy. Our Director of Administration, Shawn McLeod, has also been pivotal in helping us grow – from running our first taprooms to handling the paperwork, she’s held us up in more ways than we can count. Danica Clark, our Service Community Manager, has done an amazing job leading our venues and planning events. And Kyle Thomas, our Production Manager, has done a stellar job of stepping up our brewing and distilling teams and keeping everything fermenting and tasty.

Shoutout also to downtown Woodstock, and to Cherokee County as a whole, for welcoming small business and helping them thrive. We’re fortunate that our home town is hospitable to small business owners, and has the foresight to support innovation and growth for those chasing the small business dream. We can only hope to find the same kind of support and encouragement as we expand to serve new communities.

When it comes to community building, we can’t think of a better example than Jen Price, who ‘s story and stick-to-it-iveness have inspired us for the last decade at least, deserves a shoutout and recognition for bringing people together and Reforming communities for the better. Her tenacity, creativity, love for others, and downright joyful approach draws people out and creates connections in ways that overlap with our vision for connected communities and conversation building. Reformation is a proud sponsor of Crafted For Action, an annual conference created and lead by Price each year in Atlanta. Give it a look and make plans to attend at craftedforaction.com.

Website: https://reformationbrewery.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reformationbrewery

Twitter: https://x.com/reformationbrew

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reformationbrewery/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReformationBrewery

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@reformationbrewery

Image Credits
Lindsay Ann Snyder, Jessica Miller