| Industry | Restaurant brewery |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 10, 1999 |
| Headquarters | Savannah, Georgia, USA |
| Products | Beer |
The Moon River Brewing Company is a brew pub - restaurant, bar and brewing facility. It is the only brewery in Savannah, Georgia.
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Moon River Brewing Company opened to the public in 1999 on the site of the former Oglethorpe Brewing Co. Gene Beeco and John Pinkerton are the current owners. In 2010, the brewery won a Gold Medal for its Rosemary India Pale Ale in the "Herb and Spice or Chocolate Beer" category [1] at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado. In 2003 the brewery was voted #28 on the "Top 50 American Brewpubs" in the United States by BeerAdvocate.com.[2]
Moon River Brewing Company is located in the former City Hotel. Elazer Early, a native of Charleston, S.C, built the City Hotel in 1821. Not only was it the first hotel in Savannah, but it was also home to the first branch of the United States Post Office in Savannah, as well as a branch of the Bank of the United States. Many notable people stayed at the City Hotel, including War of 1812 hero Winfield Scott, the Marquis de Lafayette, the first three commodores of the U.S. Navy and naturalist James Audubon. Audubon stayed six months while attempting to sell books full of his wildlife sketches.
In 1851 Peter Wiltberger bought the City Hotel. He renovated it and put a live lion and lioness on display to draw attention to his business. City Hotel’s final guest checked out in 1864, just before the arrival of General Tecumseh Sherman during the Civil War and the subsequent closing of the City Hotel. At the turn of the century, the building was used as a lumber and coal warehouse. As the use of coal slowly died off, the building was used for general storage. In the 1960s the space was renovated as an office supply store, complete with a large printing press. Hurricane David forced this business to close in 1979 when it blew the roof off the structure. The building sat empty until 1995 when it was renovated into its current configuration as a brew pub.
The building is alledged to be haunted, is a feature of local guided tours,[3] and claimed by staff members to be a site of hauntings and poltergeist activity.[4] In 2005, the brewery was featured in the Ghost Hunters Halloween special, and in 2009 on Travel Channel's paranormal television series Ghost Adventures.