Former Army Captain Making a Name with Service Brewing Co.

Kevin Ryan knew he had something special with his veteran-owned and operated Service Brewing Co.

Service Brewing donates a portion of its revenues to assist charities that support the service. The brewing started in May has grown exponentially in just a few short months.

After a “summer launch party netted nearly $5,000 for charity,” Service Brewing now has the public grand opening of its Savannah, Ga., brewery set for Sept. 13 and will be selling cans shortly after, according to Army Times.

Ground Pounder Pale Ale and Compass Rose IPA will be available without a tap for the first time in October, said Ryan, a 1996 U.S. Military Academy graduate who left service as a captain and has two former soldiers on his payroll — brewmaster and fellow West Point alum Dale Sartin, and former helicopter pilot and assistant brewer Jeff Hyatt.

That means not only a bigger footprint locally, where plans call for expansion into grocery and convenience stores, but also the chance to ship his product in more manageable packaging, Ryan said.

“One of our investors is the president of a West Point Society out in California. He was trying to get beer for the Army-Stanford tailgate,” Ryan told Army Times. “It’s not cost-effective at all to put a single 5-gallon keg on a truck and drive it cross-country to California. I’m sure there’s people who’d be willing to pay that price, but not many.”