Adam Beauchamp, David Stein, and Chris Herron
Creature Comforts Brewery | Athens, GA
FEBRUARY 2018
Brewer Adam Beauchamp studied ecology at the University of Georgia and went on to pursue a graduate degree in genetics and molecular biology at Emory University. But after completing nearly all his studies at Emory, Beauchamp decided that academia wasn’t for him. Pairing his expertise with a passion––beer!––Beauchamp began volunteering at Sweetwater Brewery, working on the packaging line and in the cellar and lab. When a brewing position opened up, Beauchamp nominated himself and set out to learn all areas of production. Seven years later, he was ready to open a brewery of his own.
David Stein grew up in and out of the Atlanta perimeter. After graduating from the University of Georgia, where he met Beauchamp, he went to work at Twain’s Billiards & Tap in Decatur, Georgia, eventually becoming head brewer. All the while, he experimented with homebrewing, using Creature Comforts as a name for his side project.
In 2014, Stein was ready to expand his project to a full-scale brewery, and he quickly brought Beauchamp on board. The duo then embarked on a search for a third partner to help run the business, and they found Chris Herron, who had spent 12 years in sales for major beverage suppliers. With Herron as CEO, Creature Comforts became the 18th fastest growing brewery in the country, and they’re on track to brew more than 25,000 barrels of beer this year—a number bolstered by their flying-off-the-shelves Tropicalia IPA. Still growing, they’re working on opening a second production facility and bolstering their staff with biologists, cellermen, communications specialist, music coordinators, and, most notably, a director of community and culture. Through their Get Comfortable initiative, Creature Comforts raised more than $125,000 for nonprofits in Athens-Clarke County, and they’re using beer’s power to bring people together to strengthen and build community.
