@ kconner @JamesEMc: In the article he was referring to a production brewery, which is prohibited from selling food or alcohol directly to the consumer. A brewpub is allowed to sell sell food and alcohol directly to the consumer in-house, however they are limited in the amount of beer they can produce annually and limits on distribution.

In response to "Also, strange is the idea that free beer is okay; pay for beer, not okay." I hear ya.

I think this is great! A new local business bringing jobs to Athens and hopefully some great beer as well. It's important to keep in mind that this brewery did not put Snow Tire out of business. They were going out of business anyway, I just hope Creature Comforts gives some homage to the long-time downtown Athens tire shop. Athens should look at this as a positive addition to the community and, knowing the investors are Athens old-timers, let's hope they use this business to provide jobs and help other local businesses. A brewery needs a lot of resources, so businesses that think they could help a developing brewery should reach out to them. Also, knowing how the beer industry operates, I bet Creature Comforts and Terrapin will have a good relationship. There's plenty of room for the both of them in Athens, so let's make sure they both have our support. Cheers and congratulations!

It's nothing new and I do love Terrapin, however I hate slander. I am sick of the negative comments Terrapin continues to make about their original investors.

The story is pretty honest and simple. A group of investors, who love craft beer and love Athens, wanted to help Terrapin get their own facility so they could stop contract brewing and make a leap toward their dream. A legal contract was signed by all parties giving the investors the right to be bought out after a determined period of time.

I'm only posting this comment because I get fed up with people in general using the media and press to talk negatively about others in order to make themselves feel or look better. There's no need for that. And it's obvious that the only reason Terrapin is saying such things is because they are now in cahoots with MillerCoors. I know it's hard(er) to find money right now, but not that hard. Greg Koch from Stone Brewing is in agreement with me: http://www.beerpulse.com/2012/04/stones-greg-koch-on-selling-out/.

It's important to be open and hear both sides. So far, all I've seen or heard is Terrapin's.