More Than a Brewery
Pretoria Fields Collective started as a dream for owner, Dr. Tripp Morgan. After many years of planning and preparation, that dream became a reality. In 2017, Pretoria Fields opened the doors to their first taproom and brewery in Albany, GA. But you see, the taproom and brewery weren’t just about the craft beer—the Collective opened with the intention to serve a need in the community. Downtown Albany needed a place for people to go to enjoy the atmosphere, and be with friends while making new ones. Pretoria’s taproom offered just that. The brewery provided a different avenue to further build the community by partnering with local and statewide farmers in order to produce organic barley, wheat, and rye, to name a few. This organic farming process allowed for a better craft beer for our friends locally and around the state of Georgia to enjoy.
Pivoting the Business
When COVID-19 began to spread, we had plans to keep moving forward, but like most Georgians, we weren’t prepared for the world to stop for months at a time. Our brewery was decisions away from closing its doors. Thankfully, members of our team suggested making sanitizer like breweries in other states. It wasn’t going to be easy. We were going to have to repurpose craft beer fermenters, acquire new supplies and materials, get FDA approval, design and print labels. Despite the enormous undertaking, we are thankful we had the capabilities to fulfill a need in our community and state for necessary medical supplies. We’re more grateful to have a network of other small businesses to be able to get that product to market. Without the support of our suppliers, and local printers, designers, healthcare workers, and especially our local communities this mission would have not been possible. Like everything else in the Pretoria Fields world, this project was a collective effort.
The Pretoria Story Grows On
Through connections in our community, Pretoria Fields Collective continues to expand and grow throughout the state. Locally, word of mouth has been a beautiful thing. Regionally, distributions have worked their way to Atlanta, Savannah, and even nearby states. The increased network of other Georgia small businesses and restaurants have been an avenue of communication that has served us well. Ultimately, we’re all in this together. And our local is your local.
You can pick up hand sanitizer by visiting one of our two locations:
Albany | 120 Pine Ave, Albany, GA 31701; (229) 518-1770
McDonough | 2 Macon St. McDonough, GA 30253; (770) 731-8000
