SBA 7(a) Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in Georgia

Georgia producers: twice the national loan, and a late loss pattern

Georgia's beer, wine and spirits makers borrow at twice the national scale. Across FY2017 to FY2026 SBA approved 83 such loans via 7(a), worth $74.4 million, with a median of $500,000 that is double (2.00x) what 7(a) borrowers in the class receive nationally. The central half starts at $217,500 and ends at $1.1 million. Georgia ranks 15 among states by count, while the class is placed 17 of 39 within Georgia. No loan is franchised, at 0.00%. Those two facts, large size and no franchising, set this cell apart from the all-class Georgia record.

Holders and places

United Community Bank holds 10 loans for $8.3 million, and Community Bank of Pickens County holds 8 for a larger $9.6 million. Bank OZK has 7 for $2.1 million, Fifth Third Bank 6 for $2.4 million and Colony Bank 5 for $3.1 million. These are holders as SBA records them today. Gwinnett County has 12 loans, Cobb and Fulton 10 each, Forsyth 6, and DeKalb and Troup 5 each, so the loans cluster in the Atlanta area. Dollar volume peaked at $17.9 million in FY2021 and was $10.7 million in FY2019 and $10.6 million in FY2025, but only $2.6 million in FY2024.

Cancellation and the loss split

Cancellation runs 13.3% on the floor and 14.7% on the ceiling. Losses split sharply: among the 43 early-cohort loans, 9.3% are charged off so far, yet the figure within five years is 0.00%. In other words every loss recorded to date occurred after the fifth year, and open loans leave room for more. A reader should therefore use the longer-horizon figure and treat it as a minimum.

Reading the code and planning the study

The industry code says a borrower makes beer, wine or spirits but does not show whether a tasting room or event space is part of the business. The class was narrowed from a broad manufacturing group to just these producers, wineries included. A study must declare the revenue model: wholesale through distributors, on-site sales or both. Wholesale volume depends on distribution agreements and shelf placement; on-site sales depend on foot traffic, hours and local competition. Costs include tanks, stills, packaging, building and licenses, and inventory ties up cash for months before it sells, so the payment must be covered through that period. A loan at the Georgia median of $500,000 or above should show equipment lists and quotes. The appraisal should consider that special-purpose production space may be worth less to a later buyer than its cost, and the late loss pattern makes long-run sales resilience the central issue.