Odyssey Beerwerks

Much about the 90’s is a blur. The decade hit pretty hard with big hair, big clothes and big ideas that were quickly swept away in a big pile of baggy pants, Discman players and Sega consoles, behind the finally fading squelch of the American Online connection.
But before we packed away our pagers, an unlikely pairing of acquaintances conferred, then continued to stoke their brewing interest in…well…”brewing.” Home brewing, in particular. And so, our story begins.
It was a fantastic hobby, this beer making thing. Trial and error meant sampling a whole lot of beer. Life happened, as it does, but we tended to our hobby…and we got good at it. Really. People said so. We served it at home parties and outings and eventually the discussion revolved around making more to supply the needs and wants of our adoring public (slight embellishment…I digress…). But the topic continued to resurface, the home brews improved, and even though our corporate lives trudged on, the notion of brewing this stuff for real wouldn’t go away.
Open a brewery, you say? Exactly. A brewery was born. Twenty years after the start of our hobby, Odyssey Beerwerks was formed to do the impossible – take that enjoyable hobby of creating fine craft beer and make it a business. Bringing new and exciting hand crafted beers onto our vibrant planet, at the same time enjoying and appreciating all you folks we meet along the way, is a damn fine way to “work.”

Author: Caroline Porsiel

Caroline Porsiel is a master distiller and liqueurist based in East Ellijay, Georgia. She founded House of Applejay, a fine spirits and liqueur distillery, in 2022 with her mother, Sabine, crafting award-winning products like Applejay from Ellijay, Mt. Frozen Knob Vodka, and Winter Cherry Mountain Liqueur. The distillery won a 2024 Best of Georgia Award and a 2025 Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition for its Winter Cherry Mountain Liqueur. As a founding member of the AMBRU Campaign, launched in 2020, Porsiel advocates for the global recognition of American Brandy and Rum. She continues to drive innovation in the craft spirits industry from her active distillery in the heart of Georgia’s apple country.