Skint Chestnut Brewing Company

Co-owners Doug Farrell and Mark Henson opened Skint Chestnut’s doors in July 2022, and since then have made the brewery a downtown destination. Weekly offerings include Cigar Night on Tuesdays, cornhole league play on Wednesdays, and trivia on Thursday nights. Live music is brought into the brewery, or outside on its patio, several times throughout the year.

The brewery at 3886 Broad St. earned its most recent accolades at the start of May, winning two awards from Cobb Travel & Tourism following the organization’s fifth-annual Bubbles & Brews. Held each March, it is a monthlong celebration of Cobb County’s local craft beverage makers.

Skint Chestnut earned the Best Bubbles & Brews Beverage award for its Vienna Lager. The brewery can also boast the “Sweetest Brew Team” among the 14 “Hop Spots” that took part in Bubbles & Brews. Both awards along with 10 other categories were voted on by those who took part in Bubbles & Brews, with Cobb Travel & Tourism distributing 3,000 physical “BrewPasses” for the campaign, while more than 800 people signed up for digital BrewPasses.

Henson, who serves as Skint Chestnut’s brewmaster, describes the Vienna as “a light, crisp and malty lager with a toasted bread finish.” It was brewed specifically to coincide with this year’s Bubbles & Brews, and with spring’s start during the month, its style was chosen due to it being a “good warmer weather beer.”

“It was also something we haven’t made before. Something new and exciting,” Henson said. Patrons surely agreed.

The two awards, which were delivered to the brewery Friday, brought their overall total from Cobb Travel & Tourism to three. Participating in the 2023 Bubbles & Brews, despite having been open about eight months, saw patrons crown Skint Chestnut with the “Best Patio Vibes” accolade.

Visitors may see motorcycles or VW bugs and beetles outside during special days encouraging owners of those rides to park and enjoy the brewery’s offerings.

And Skint Chestnut has been a key partner on events with the City of Powder Springs, hosting the city’s inaugural Chili Cook-off on Veterans Day 2023, and April’s inaugural Community Yard Sale held down Broad Street and Hotel Avenue.

Farrell and Henson are quick to say that they don’t keep the doors open to win awards.

“It goes back to our mission statement — we wanted to be the place to be for friends and neighbors to come and enjoy a high-quality craft beverage,” Farrell said. “Being ‘the place to be’ is the key part of that.”

But the pair can be proud of a few other honors that have come their way in their establishment’s short history.

Powder Springs’ sole brewery has also been named one of Georgia Business Journal’s Best of Georgia 2023, one of six breweries in the state to receive the honor.

It’s also a two-time finalist for Best Local Brewery/Distillery in the Marietta Daily Journal/Cobb Life Best of Cobb contest, placing third the past two years. 

As its owners continue to keep Skint Chestnut “the place to be,” the brewery is bound to remain a top stop for residents and visitors who enjoy hops.