Little Cottage Brewery to open brewery in Avondale Estates

One of the most talented brewers in Georgia, and arguably the entire country, is one step closer to opening. That is great news for Dekalb County as Little Cottage Brewery signed a lease in Avondale Estates on Wednesday. When Little Cottage Brewery does open, it will join Wild Heaven Beer and The Lost Druid Brewery in the area as well as Three Taverns Brewery, Sceptre Brewing Arts, and Twain’s Brewpub  in nearby Decatur. Known for his barrel-aged beers, head brewer/owner Jon Shari shared the latest with Southern Beer Tours.”As of 8:20 p.m. ET on Aug. 12, my wife, Aimee, and I signed a lease to start Little Cottage Brewery,” Shari said.

Little Cottage hopes to soon begin buildout of a 3.5 bbl brewhouse at 120 Olive Street in a 2,164-square foot facility that will be an own-premise brewery.  It will be the culmination of seven years of forethought for Shari, whose love for brewing at home crafted a dedicated following.

“Starting Little Cottage Brewery has been on my mind for years,” Shari said. “There were times that I thought ‘yeah, I can do this’ and then other times I would just be discouraged by the sheer amount of money it costs to open a brewery and let that idea just fall to the wayside. With the signing of this lease, it has made this long time dream a reality. There’s no going back now and we will continue to press ahead as we still have a ways to go. I am truly excited to be able to do this, not only for myself but for all of you who have supported me and patiently waited for me to make something of it.”

Over the years, those who have tried Little Cottage bottles such as Sun is My Destroyer (a barrel-aged strong ale), Metal Only (barrel-aged stout), More than Metal (Metal only with vanilla beans), and Burn all the Witches (barleywine), have praised Shari’s talent and bottles quickly became highly sought after nationwide. In recent years, Little Cottage Brewery has poured at local festivals like Tinypalooza, Day of the Juice, Juice Strikes Back, Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting, as well as the Weldwerks Invitational in Colorado. Little Cottage has also been involved with several highly-regarded collaborations, including “A Dark Offering” with Kings Brewing in California, ‘Telekinetic’ with Cherry Street, ‘Allyship’ with Newgrass Brewing Co. in North Carolina, and ‘Time Immemorial’ and ‘Microcosm II’ with Eighth State Brewing in South Carolina, the latter pair being two of the top rated stouts of 2019.

The 120 Olive St location currently being renovated for storefront properties.

Soon the masses will have an opportunity to try his beer, giving many their first chance to see what all of the fuss is about. For Shari, that is only part of his passion for brewing.

“For me, making beer has not only taught me a lot about brewing in general

but also allowed me to meet new people and foster great friendships over the years,” Shari said. “The beer community is a tightknit one and that is what I want Little Cottage Brewery to become – a place where people can come together and share their life experiences.”

Update 4/20/2021: Little Cottage has completed construction on their brewery. They are currently waiting on their final permit approvals. Opening dates are expected to be announced in the next month.