Like a lot of would-be beer makers, Brandon Hintz spent some time bouncing around jobs before discovering his brewing passion. The Marietta native worked in construction after graduating from Georgia Southern University, but lost his job when the real estate market went belly-up. He and his wife moved to Iowa, where he got a job with the Army Corps of Engineers, and started homebrewing on the side for fun. After four years in the Hawkeye State, his wife, also from Marietta, longed for home. It was a brewing position at SweetWater that did the trick, and the pair returned to Georgia. Ultimately, it was their time spent hanging out in downtown Roswell, and noticing how many Alpharetta citizens were doing the same, that would convince Hintz to open a beer spot a few miles north.  Hop Alley Brewpub opened in Alpharetta in June 2013, serving up five house-made beers alongside guest drafts and bottles from the likes of Delirium Nocturnum, 21st Amendment, and Alpharetta local Jekyll Brewing.