Ep. 139 - Lindsay and Shawn Johnson of Birds Fly South

Birds Fly South calls itself a “progressively old school urban farmhouse” brewery. It might sound like several contradictions until you start talking with Shawn and Lindsay Johnson, the co-founders, and suddenly this Greenville, South Carolina brewery starts to make sense. 

 
The origin story might sound familiar. Shawn was a beer fan who tried a lot of different styles and visited breweries during his time in the Coast Guard. At the time they were stationed on Kodiak Island, Alaska where early sunsets meant more times for hobbies. Lindsay got him a homebrew kit for Father’s Day one year and the rest… well, you know. 

The moved to Florida and Shawn started working with Bob Sylvester of Saint Somewhere, and a deep appreciation for saison and farmhouse ales flourished. A move to the D.C area had Shawn helping to open Fair Winds Brewing Co. in Virginia at that point the idea to have their own place had cemented and needed to come a reality. 

Birds Fly South opened in 2016. 

In this episode we’ll talk about the brewing process and recipe development with Shawn and front of the house and the taproom with Lindsay all while going deeper into what the brewery wants to be and how it plans to get there.

This Episode is sponsored by:

Cigar City Brewing Co.
Have you met Florida Man? It’s a modern Double IPA with a tropical expression from its blend of American hops, including Citra, Azacca, El Dorado, and Mandarina Bavarian, and is balanced by delicate peach esters from a unique Double IPA yeast and a dash of Canadian honey malt. Learn more about the hero of the sunshine by visiting CigarCityBrewing.com 

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• Host: John Holl
• Guests: Lindsay and Shawn Johnson of Birds Fly South
• Sponsors: Cigar City Brewing, The Craft Brewery Cookbook,  All About Beer and The Beer Edge
• Tags: Beer, Ownership, Florida, Saison, Innovation, Bottles, Growth, South Carolina