VALDOSTA – Legacy means everything to Jack Martin.

A Valdosta native, the man affectionately known as “J. Ryce” locally felt honored to give back to the community which raised him.

And give back more than just tasty beer.

Martin stood as one half of the duo who own Georgia Beer Company, Valdosta’s first and only brewery. With a glass in hand, he said a thriving business meant more to him than just dollars.

“I feel like I had a legacy before me, and I feel like I’m leaving a legacy behind as well,” Martin said.

Nearly a hundred people lined the Georgia Beer Company taproom to observe the brewery’s first anniversary Saturday. The business, nestled in downtown, has quickly ascended into a local institution and travel destination for South Georgia residents.

A birthday party was not the only reason to celebrate, though.

Chris Jones, Martin’s business partner and other half of the duo, offered a surprise announcement to the audience during an appreciation speech to those in attendance. Georgia Beer agreed to distribute its beer to all 450 Publix grocery stores around the state, he said.

With that move, nearly every Georgian will have the chance to pop the top on a can of Georgia Beer. The rapid expansion should not detract from what the brewery is down in its core, a local small business.

“We didn’t just want a business who set up shop and tried to make money off the local population,” Jones said.

He stressed their business plan aims to represent the community not only locally, but around the state. Having people be proud of their beer and say “yeah, that came from my town” was the intent all along, he said.

More than anything, Jones said the day provided a humbling experience to see the support from the Valdosta community.

While the day’s themes were appreciation and humility, the beer of the day’s theme was locality.

A word often overly used and falsely advertised, locality can be considered cliche, but Mike Delf wanted to embody the true definition of the word without snark. Delf, head brewer at Georgia Beer Company, utilized the party to display products form purveyors around the area in the form of a beer.

That beer’s title could have indicated that of royal lineage in terms of its length. Attendees held glasses filled with a black-brown elixir named Whiskey Barrel-Aged Chocolate-Covered Pecan Porter.

According to Delf, the brew contained 105 pounds of Lowndes County pecans, cane syrup from Raisin’ Cane in Valdosta and 12 pounds of locally produced honey.

“We call them his urban bees,” Delf said. “Our brewery is in a 12-block square area that his bees works, so it’s truly local.”

Although the standard porter rolled out in November, Delf procured a whiskey barrel and decided to give the beer a firewater twist for the day’s celebration. The effort to create new beers stems from a desire to try new things. So much so, 44 different beers emanated from the brewery’s tanks in a single year, he said.

“They just keep coming out for us, so we must be doing something right,” Delf said.

One of those in attendance was Ethan Barwick. Barwick, a 29-year-old fire-alarm technician, showed up for festivities to spend his Saturday sipping on some IPAs.

He said having a brewery in town provides another attraction for residents looking for weekend fun outside of restaurants or the movies.

“This adds something to do on a Saturday,” he said.

Barwick said he visits Georgia Beer Company once or twice a month and encourages folks to try the 16 varieties on tap.

“Start with the Field Party (the signature blonde ale) and don’t just stay with that. Explore,” he said.

While people socialized with glasses of Field Party and others, Jones sat upstairs in his narrow office to take a break for the activity.

Sitting in the black leather office chair, he paused for a moment then turned his gaze to the window looking down on the taproom. A smile began to dawn on his face as he watched groups of people hanging out, all with beers in hand.

Jones, taking a moment to reflect on the turnout of the day, could not help but think of what the future will hold. With plans to expand into Florida and sit on the shelves of every Georgia Publix, he envisions the second anniversary as not only a celebration of the community but an introduction for beer travelers to Valdosta.

“There will be people coming from other parts of the state and other states to come and revel with us,” he said.