It makes total sense that the concept was conceived of after a couple of beers, doesn’t it? During a business meeting between two strangers, the conversation veered to the topic of craft beers and the community’s need for a brewery in their hometown of Suwanee, Georgia. Co-Founders, Randall Veugeler and John Bisges discovered that they had each toyed with the ridiculous idea of opening their own brewery someday. The pair quickly realized that Randall’s marketing know-how, as publisher of Suwanee Magazine, paired with John’s experience in manufacturing and distributing were two key elements of a successful business endeavor. Selling the dream to their wives took a little finagling but in the end, both ended up supporting the duo’s pipe dream. Next step was finding a brewmaster. As fate would have it, Randall knew a guy. Not just any guy – THE guy: Phil Farrell, an award-winning home brewer with more metal around his neck than Mr T. As one of the top 10 ranked beer judges in the world, Phil had previously judged home brew contests at the craft beer festival Randall had produced since 2011. After a pitch stressing the pair’s commitment to creating a creative environment where he could develop a portfolio of bold and exciting craft beers in a place where community was cornerstone, Phil signed on. John’s nephew, Aaron Bisges, fresh from acing the bar and willing to do anything besides becoming a lawyer, joined the project as General Manager. Walt Wooden, a web developer at Randall’s branding firm decided to leave the glamorous world of web design behind to pursue his dream of brewing beer for a living. A prime location in the heart of downtown Suwanee was secured and for the next two years, the StillFire team would research and develop the knowledge and skills needed to start a commercial brewery.
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