I can still remember the first time I ever stepped into the space on the corner of 9th and Rock that would become Stone’s Throw Brewing: it was, to put it kindly, a bit of a fixer-upper. Back in those days, the four-way partnership of Theron Cash, Ian Beard, Brad McLaurin, and Shawn Tobin had less to do with brewing beer and more to do with major renovations like drywall, painting, carpentry, and the meticulous planning required to build a health department-certified brewing area. 

Lucky for all of us, the hard work paid off with a delightful nanobrewery with a taproom that’s almost always full.

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One year into operations, Stone’s Throw appears to be in the local beer game to stay. They’ve partnered with restaurants like Natchez and Hillcrest Artisan Meats, local artisan Kent Walker, and area food trucks to make the brewery a destination to hang out, eat delicious food, and have a pint or three. And now, right on their one year anniversary, they’ve announced something very exciting: they are expanding the brewery — enough to almost double their capacity from 24 barrels to nearly 48.

In addition to increased brewing facilities, Stone’s Throw is also upgrading their equipment, adding an automatic keg-cleaner to reduce the time it takes to clean kegs and and a larger glycol chiller, bigger pumps, and a higher capacity heat exchange cool the proto-beer to get it ready for fermentation. 

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There’s more going on than just the expansion. They’ve released an Anniversary Stout, a recreation of an unexpectedly strong beer brewed a year ago, and have announced a collaborative brew, Ales for ALS Hoppy Wheat, that will be released July 18 to help fund research on Lou Gehrig’s disease. Best of all, to mark the anniversary of the brewery tap room opening, a block party will be held on Rock St. adjacent to the brewery on August 2.

If you haven’t been by Stone’s Throw lately, go check out what’s happening. And if you’ve never made it in, there’s certainly no time like the present. Congratulations to Stone’s Throw for a strong first year, and here’s to many more!

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