Founder and CEO, Reformation Brewery

Grace is the end of performance.

I'm Spencer Nix. I co-founded Reformation Brewery to build the kind of room the world forgot how to make. A place where you can drop your guard, pull up a chair, and just be here.

Est. October 31, 2013 · Reformation Day

Spencer Nix in a flat cap, smiling inside the taproom

Founder story

How a brew night became a brewery

I was in church ministry for more than fifteen years. My friend Nick Downs was a pilot who kept bringing home these yeast-forward, full-flavored beers from Europe. We'd drink them and talk church history like a couple of geeks.Then he got moved to a plane that didn't fly to Europe anymore. The beer stopped coming. So we started making it.Every third Friday we'd brew and invite a few people. A few years later, it was 100 or more folks on ten acres near Waleska. Food, guitars, cornie kegs, people driving in from border states. We didn't plan any of it. It was way bigger than us.

Reformation Brewery opened on October 31, 2013. Halloween, sure. Also Reformation Day. That wasn't an accident.

We started as the smallest brewery in Georgia at the time. The beer matters, and we make it well. But what people really come for is a little social relief: the moments, the conversations, and it's for whoever walks through the door.

Spencer and the Reformation crew in the brewhouse

In the brewhouse with the crew.

Georgia's Small Business Rock Stars catches up with Reformation.

Reformation Brewery

What makes the room work

You'll get it faster by walking in than by reading this. But here's what you'll notice.

Two friends raising glasses across a taproom table

Nobody's performing

You don't have to prove anything to pull up a chair. Bring who you want. Stay as long as you like.

A guest stretched out on the lawn with a can

A place to exhale

A break from rooms that ask too much of you. Dogs, kids, grandparents, college students and trivia regulars share the same space, and nobody's crowding anybody out.

Two people holding glasses side by side

Whatever's in your glass

A well-made beer, a handmade cocktail, a coffee, a mocktail. All of them valid. All of them served with the same warmth. Nobody has to explain what's in their glass to belong.

The big oak over the Woodstock beer garden

Come find us

Wish you were here.

Taprooms in Woodstock, Canton and Smyrna, plus an online store if you can't get to us. Same welcome at every one.

Woodstock · 105 Elm St. · Hours and eventsCanton · The Mill on Etowah · Hours and eventsSmyrna · On the Chattahoochee · Hours and events

Reformation Brewery in downtown Woodstock, with the Airstream out front

Beyond the taproom

Local is where the real work happens.

I serve on the board of the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild and on other local boards with the Woodstock Downtown Development Authority (DDA), Visit Woodstock (CVB), and the Development Department of Cherokee County. Breweries don't thrive alone. Neither do towns.

Georgia Craft Brewers Guild · City of Woodstock · Woodstock DDA · Visit Woodstock · Cherokee LEAP

Writing

Thoughts Over Tulips

Notes from a guy who'd rather talk on a patio than post on a platform. Faith, work, hospitality, and the strange freedom of already being enough. Read what you want. Push back if you want. The door's open.

Essay

Authentic Hospitality

Patios over platforms, and why friction is where the warmth is.

Essay

Freedom from Resolving

A new year without the treadmill of fixing yourself.

Essay

Rich Man at Fifty

Fifty years on a long and winding trail, and what I can see from up here.

Follow along

(un)Socials

I'd rather meet you on a patio than a platform. But if you can't make it to the taproom, this is the next best thing.

A group clinking cans and glasses

Guest stories

Humans of Reformation

4.7 stars across 1,500+ Google reviews at three taprooms

"We asked what they have and how it works and the guy at the counter was very nice and explained pretty much everything. We got some drinks and really enjoyed them. We will definitely come back to try more!"

Thomas B. · Canton · Google review

"From the moment we walked in, the vibe was welcoming and relaxed — the kind of place where you can instantly unwind."

Theresa M. · Woodstock · Google review

"Went with a group with varying beer preferences and we were all happy with our choices (love the Alani!) Super dog friendly."

Debbie K. · Smyrna · Google review

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No hustle tips. No five steps to a better you. Just an honest essay when I've actually got something worth saying.

Contact

Let's talk

A partnership, a question about Reformation, or you just want to argue theology over a beer. Send it. Or come say hi at one of the taprooms.

The door is open.

© 2026 Spencer Nix