Strange Duck Brewing Co.

Strange Duck Brewing Co.

A creature of creative ambition, Drake began his ventures constructing alcoholic beverages at the tender age of 16. A few subpar batches of muscadine and apple wine later, he had a ‘spirit’ual revelation. Struck with a bolt of rebellion, he and his pals built a moonshine still at his home in Dacula, Ga. Distilling was an easy way for them to polish up a rough batch of wine or just make some white lightnin’ that could burn a hole through your liver. This stint of potent juice production for he and his friends was both remembered and forgotten. Drake’s desire to impress his peers drove him straight into beer making. At the age of 18, he made a $200 Craigslist purchase of used homebrew equipment. Four carboys, four kegs with all kegerator equipment, some pots to cook wort and much more. His first batch was a four-year-old extract kit that came with the purchased equipment. The taste was not the most impressive, but the pride of production drove him onward. Drake went on to study Economics at the University of Georgia in Athens. In his free time, he kept growing his brews and expanding his knowledge by reading brew books, listening to brewing podcasts and hanging out with the local homebrew club A.L.E.Z (Athens League of Extraordinary Zymurgist). He ended up working at Blockader Homebrew Shop throughout college for store credit and great tips of the trade from Justin Manglitz and Evan Smith. In January 2018, Drake and his wife Kristan moved back to Georgia, to a nice peaceful spot just off Hwy 98 where they are raising their three girls, with the goal to find the ideal spot to start their own brewery. The perfect location would take some thoughtfulness and due diligence, so Drake took the opportunity to broaden his alcoholic spectrum evermore and took a job with ASW Distillery in Atlanta. There, Drake works as the brewer making 4,000 gallons of whiskey mash per week for several varieties of award winning single malt whiskeys and bourbon. With the opening of Strange Duck Brewing Co., Drake is now back to the beer world and is looking forward to fulfilling some of his wildest brew dreams.