Kettlerock Brewing
By: Daniel P. Smith | Categories: Alumni Achievements
It's a family affair at Kettlerock Brewing, a recent addition to metro Atlanta’s surging craft beer scene. At the not-yet-one-year-old brewery in Peachtree Corners, someone in the six-member, Georgia Tech–educated Peet family touches every aspect of the operation.
The family matriarch and Kettlerock CEO, Dianna Peet, ICS 79, brought her artistic sensibilities to the brewery’s design and branding. Husband Stephen Peet, ME 80, leveraged years of project management skills with AT&T to guide the brewery’s construction and now oversees its finances.
Oldest son Sterling Peet, CS 16, is Kettlerock’s head brewer and resident mad scientist whose weekday job consists of building satellites and propulsion systems at Tech’s Space Systems Design Laboratory. Though second-born son Taylor Peet, CS 14, officially holds the title of brewery operations manager, the running family
joke holds that his “real job” is keeping Sterling in check. Meanwhile, the youngest two Peet children, Devon Peet, CM 15, MS HCI 18, and Christa Peet, CS 17, MS HCI 19, drive Kettlerock’s marketing efforts.
“Everyone pitches in everywhere,” Dianna assures. “That’s the way it goes here.”
The collaborative, all-hands-on deck feel at Kettlerock shouldn’t be surprising, given that opening a brewery was a collective family decision. Drinking beers one night, someone— no one can confirm who—suggested opening a brewery. The offer generated immediate laughter, followed by earnest reflection.
“After all,” Dianna says, “we had all the skills to do it.”
After months of intense market research that included visiting breweries, surveying the legal landscape, and sending Stephen, Sterling, and Taylor to a conference in Vermont designed to help homebrewers pursue commercial operations—“It was like drinking from a fire hose,” Stephen says of that four-day event—the Peets’ entrepreneurial effort intensified in early 2020.
Powered by a standing family business meeting every Monday night, the Peets secured a storefront in Peachtree Corners, the community Stephen and Dianna have called home for more than three decades, strengthened their business plan, and generated community interest by capturing top honors in Gwinnett County’s Amazing Entrepreneur Contest.
"People say all the time, 'I don't know if I could work with my kids,’ but they’ve stepped up in every way,” Dianna says of her four children, all former Tech marching band members accustomed to disciplined, synergistic action.
Since May 2021, Kettlerock Brewing has welcomed guests into its cozy, 5,000-square-foot space on Peachtree Parkway. Pulling its name from North Carolina’s Kettle Rock Mountain, the 150-seat taproom carries an outdoorsy, mountain lodge feel with its stone fireplace, bear-themed rug, and natural wood tabletops, a deliberate contrast to the industrial vibe so commonplace in U.S. breweries.
The Kettlerock crew produces its beer on site, crafting more than 450 gallons of beer each month for the establishment’s 10 taps. The Trailhead blonde ale has emerged as an early fan favorite, though Sterling and Taylor—longtime homebrewers and self-identifying "beer nerds”—experiment with styles ranging from New England IPAs and imperial stouts to German lagers and wee heavies to diversify Kettlerock’s lineup and entice guests’ exploration. In one particularly interesting twist, Kettlerock offers four rotating syrup flavors, such as wildberry, lychee, and habanero lime, that can be pumped into its Variable Conditions kettle sour beer and Base Layer hard seltzer for a touch of liquid customization.
Eager to build on Kettlerock’s early success, the Peets continue adding live entertainment to the taproom, plotting new recipes for the brewery’s imaginative barrel-aged program, and developing plans for both canning and distribution.
“As a bunch of Georgia Tech engineers, we have a handle on the chemistry aspect that goes into beer making,” Devon says. “Combine that with a dash of family love, and that’s the magic formula."
