BREW BREAKTHROUGH.

• Author: Pressler, Alyssa
• Position: STATEWIDE: West

Catawba Brewing CEO Billy Pyatt never expected a home-brew kit--a gift from his wife, Jetta--would grow into a thriving business with four breweries and distribution in five states.

"Even though we've been doing this 20 years, every day is new and fun," he says.

That home-brew kit appealed to Pyatt's engineering background--the N.C. State University grad worked at Corning for nearly 30 years--as he tweaked his processes. Soon, the Marion native and his brother, Scott Pyatt, were brewing 15 gallons of beer in their driveway two or three times a month.

Morganton-based Catawba incorporated in the mid-90s but didn't sell its first beer until summer 1999 after they acquired all the necessary brewing equipment, Pyatt says. In recent years, Catawba has expanded to Asheville and Charlotte.

In 2019, the brewer plans to surpass the 115 beer styles it created last year and match last year's output of at least 40,000 gallons, ranking it among the...