Nashville Beer Scene

In lieu of any actual brewing, I figured I'd post up a summary of where the mid-state brewery scene is at, as it's been growing like crazy lately.  We've been rated by a few publications as one of the fastest growing and best craft beer scenes, plus we have the whole music thing going for us as well.  Some brewery taprooms to visit and/or tour, some great beer bars and speakeasies, usually a good festival on any given weekend, and a bunch of quality music venues...

Nashville Brewery District:

Yazoo - The big daddy of Nashville breweries.  Celebrating it's 10th birthday next month, Yazoo has won several WBC and GABF awards and has started a very promising sour program.  Available in bottle shops, restaurants, and bars throughout Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama.  Taproom on Wed-Sat, and tours available on Saturdays.
Jackalope - Two year old brewery that has started to catch its groove.  One of the only female-owned breweries in the Southeast.  Available at bars and restaurants in Nashville, and will start canning this year.  Taproom on Thurs-Sat, and tours on Saturdays.
Czann's - New brewery that has started distributing to local bars in the past few months.  Taproom in 2014.
Tennessee Brew Works - New brewery that opened this summer.  Taproom opening soon.

Other Nashville Breweries:

Blackstone - The other big daddy of Nashville breweries.  The oldest and most decorated brewery in town, with several awards at the GABF. Available in bottle shops, restaurants, and bars throughout the region.  Also available at their great brewpub/restaurant.  Tours available occasionally.
Bosco's - Another long-time brewer in Nashville who is very consistent and highly regarded.  Two great brewpub/restaurants in the Nashville area.
Fat Bottom - Year old brewery in East Nashville.  Beers available at bars around town and at their taproom/restaurant.
Rock Bottom - Biersch chain restaurant/brewery. Best view of the city with their rooftop bar overlooking Broadway and 2nd Avenue.
Black Abbey - Newly opened brewery focusing on Belgian styles.
Honky Tonk - Another brand new brewery preparing to open.
Little Harpeth - Another new brewery focusing on lagers.

Other Breweries in the Region:

Cool Springs Brewery - Well established brewpub/restaurant in Franklin. Very creative, and on-par with the best breweries in town.
Turtle Anarchy - Year old brewery in Franklin.  Very solid and consistent, with a creative focus on variations of stouts.  Taproom Thurs-Sat and tours on Saturdays.
Granite City - Chain reataurant/brewery
Calfkiller - Crazy creative and out-there brewery. Most beers don't shoehorn into any particular style, but all are great beers.
Mayday - Another year old entry in the 'Boro.  Taproom hours late in the week and on weekends.  Host to the local homebrewing group.
Jubilee - They have been contract brewing their brown ale for some time, and now are contract brewing two beers at Mayday.  50% of proceeds to charity, and good beers.

Festivals:

We have a busy beer schedule in the Nashville area... (I'm likely missing a few, but this is a pretty representative list...)

Feile - Franklin Main Street Brew Fest - March
East Nashville Beer Festival - March
Yazoo Funk Fest - April
Eastside Brew Ha Ha - May
Brew at the Zoo - May
Music City Brewer’s Fest - July
Nashville Predators Craft Beer Festival - August
Yazoo Mini Funk Fest - August this year, variable times ongoing
Taste of Tennessee Craft Brewers Festival - September
Beer Fest in the Gulch - September
BeerFeast Nashville - September
Nashville Beer Festival - October
Germantown Oktoberfest- October
Tennessee Volksfest - October
Tennessee Beer Festival - October
Music in the Middle Beer Festival - October
12 South Winter Warmer - December
Science of Beer - December

And, starting in 2015, the Southern Brewers Conference... 

Plus several smaller fests, events, brewery birthday parties, beer runs, etc...

Creators of Other Libations:

Corsair Distillery - Award Winning distillery in Yazoo's old brewery, with tours and a beer taproom.
Collier and McKeel Distillery - Another great distillery also in the old Yazoo location.
Arrington Vineyards - A great vineyard that makes Napa-quality wines.  Owned by Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn.

About Town Beer Haunts:

Hops+Crafts - Taproom and growler fill station with 35 rotating taps and the best barkeeps in town.
Craft Brewed - Another growler fill station with 20+ taps, bottles, and a taproom.
The Filling Station - Another growler fill station with 20+ taps.
The Hop Stop - Another growler fill station with 20+ taps
KayBob's Grill and Ale - BBQ restaurant with a 16 tap growler fill station
Flying Saucer - Extensive tap and bottle list at this chain bar/restaurant.
Broadway Brewhouse - Five bar/restaurant locations around town, and a great tap list.
12South Taproom - Good tap/bottle selection and a great porch.

#76: Belgian IPA

I had an old Trappist yeast that needed using, and since I accidentally popped the nutrient bag when I was moving ingredients the other day, now is the time. I decided to do the IPA with this Trappist yeast.  Should be interesting.  Also added a half pound candi sugar.  Hop boil with some old Summit hops (I cut the AA in half as an estimate based on their age) and new Centennial hops, as well as some PoR I made the mistake of purchasing.  Hit my OG pretty well.  This is the first high grav I've done in a while.  Hoping for the best...

Hoppy Belgian

Belgian Specialty Ale

 

Type: All Grain	Date: 3/6/2013
Batch Size: 2.40 gal	Brewer:
Boil Size: 2.75 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: My Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 6.25 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 89.29 % 0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.57 % 0.50 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops - 0.36 oz Pride of Ringwood [9.00 %] (60 min) Hops 19.3 IBU 1.44 oz Summit [8.00 %] (20 min) Hops 41.5 IBU 1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (5 min) Hops 11.9 IBU 0.50 lb Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM) Sugar 7.14 % 1 Pkgs Trappist High Gravity (Wyeast Labs #3787) Yeast-Wheat
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.081 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.082 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.017 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.016 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 8.37 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 8.64 %
Bitterness: 72.6 IBU	Calories: 375 cal/pint
Est Color: 8.0 SRM

#75: Amarillo Pale Ale #2

Last brewday for a while.  Way too much beer in ferment/condition/bottle to justify more brewing until Fall. I still have some of the extracts from the contest (about 7-8, I think), and a couple of yeasts that need to be used, so I'll likely do an extract brewday or two before completely shutting down.

Was thinking wheat IPA here, especially after seeing Amarillo hops at the LHBS.  I intended to do about 50% wheat and 50% 2-row/carapils, but I ended up only 10% wheat after a LHBS snafu.  No worries. Adjusted my efficiency down to what I've been getting lately and thus hit my OG perfectly.  When I pick back up brewing, I'll have to address getting my efficiency up.  For today, adding a couple dollars extra grain got me there.

Amarillo Pale #2

American Pale Ale

 

Type: All Grain	Date: 3/3/2013
Batch Size: 2.40 gal	Brewer: Swenocha
Boil Size: 3.00 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 5.20 lb Pilsen Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.0 SRM) Grain 83.78 % 0.67 lb White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 10.81 % 0.34 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 5.41 % 0.25 oz Amarillo [6.40 %] (60 min) Hops 10.2 IBU 0.10 oz Summit [8.00 %] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 5.6 IBU 0.75 oz Amarillo [6.40 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops - 0.25 oz Amarillo [6.40 %] (15 min) Hops 5.0 IBU 0.50 oz Amarillo [6.40 %] (5 min) Hops 4.0 IBU 0.25 oz Amarillo [6.40 %] (1 min) Hops 0.4 IBU 1 Pkgs American Ale Yeast Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.072 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.074 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.021 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.018 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.72 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 7.32 %
Bitterness: 25.3 IBU	Calories: 338 cal/pint
Est Color: 9.1 SRM

#74: Smoked Hefe

Been trying to brew this the last two weekends.  Finally got it done...

This is a style I've wanted to try since I had a smoked Berliner Weisse (Freigeist Abraxxxas by Gasthaus-Brauerei Braustelle).  Though I'd really like to go for a Berliner Weisse, I decided I liked the smoky with the wheat enough to experiment with a hefe-like brew as my first cut.  I have found that there are a few instances of this style out there, but none that I've had my hands on.  I used the cherrywood smoked malt that I've used for the Sue smoked porter clone.  I really like the flavor of that more than the peat smoked malt.  This may really suck, but I have a feeling it will really rule.  I may submit this for the CSB contest if I like it.  I am trying to brew beers right now with the thought of using them for that contest, and am intentionally picking styles I've never seen CSB brew, since their intent is putting the grand prize winner in their rotation.  Wouldn't make sense to make something they already make is my theory, as they'll be less likely to pick it...

My efficiency stinks again.  My mash temps were great (150 for 90 minutes), so I'm thinking I may need to get a finer mill (maybe have the LHBS pass it through twice) or my pH might be off.  The last several have missed by quite a bit, but this one is still within the range of what I wanted, so life is good.  Here's what we have:

Smoky Hefe

American Wheat or Rye Beer

 

Type: All Grain	Date: 2/25/2013
Batch Size: 4.00 gal
Boil Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 3.00 lb White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 33.33 % 2.00 lb Maris Otter (Crisp) (4.0 SRM) Grain 22.22 % 2.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 22.22 % 1.00 lb Wheat, Torrified Red (1.5 SRM) Grain 11.11 % 0.50 lb Caramel Malt - 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 5.56 % 0.50 lb Smoked Malt, Cherrywood (5.0 SRM) Grain 5.56 % 0.50 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 13.3 IBU 0.50 oz Cascade [5.00 %] (15 min) Hops 6.0 IBU 0.50 oz Liberty [4.00 %] (5 min) Hops 1.9 IBU 1.00 tsp Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 1 Pkgs Wheat Ale (WB-06) Yeast-Wheat
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.043 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.043 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.011 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.06 %
Bitterness: 21.2 IBU	Calories: 189 cal/pint
Est Color: 7.5 SRM

Fix the Beer Tax

Tennessee has by far the highest beer tax in the country (12 percent higher than No. 2 Alaska) and it continues to skyrocket. Please check out this site, and especially if you a TN resident, use the handy link to contact your legislators. The current method not only makes beer much more expensive for the consumer, it also discourages brewers from bringing their product into TN and thus cuts choice, and deters the growth of local small business, as the way the tax is calculated puts a much higher tax rate on small craft brews as opposed to BMC beers.

Fix the Beer Tax
contact legislators: linky

Beer Tax rate per barrel:

Tennessee     $37.00

Alaska         33.17

Alabama        32.65

Georgia        30.73

Kentucky       23.96

North Carolina 19.13

Mississippi    13.23

Virginia        8.69

Arkansas        7.51

Missouri        1.86

- Tennessee’s beer tax rate uses the barrel as its standard rate of measure. A barrel is 31 gallons of beer. That beer can be sold by the can, bottle, case or keg, but as far as the taxes are concerned, the rate is based on the barrel.
- Tennessee’s system has three main elements in its beer-tax structure. State and federal excise taxes are based on volume. The local wholesale beer tax is based on price. Kentucky is the only other state that includes a price-based tax, although that rate is far lower Tennessee’s.
- The price-based portion of the beer tax — a 17-percent tax — goes to Tennessee’s cities and counties, generating more than $125 million in revenue for those communities in 2011.
- In the same year, the state excise beer tax generated $16 million, and the federal excise beer tax paid in Tennessee was $69 million.
- For the past decade, beer sales have declined by five percent in Tennessee, but the local wholesale tax revenues have climbed rapidly, up more than 30 percent.

- Tennessee surpassed Alabama in 2007 to become the second highest beer-tax state behind Alaska.
- Tennessee became the highest beer tax rate in the country in 2008, overtaking Alaska.
- Higher price-point beers are taxed higher, which unfairly penalizes Tennessee’s young craft-brewing industry.
- These policies also directly affect more than 1,500 Tennesseans, from small distributors that employ 25 to wholesalers employing 250. These are Tennessee-owned businesses that have been contributing to their communities for generations.

The solution: Adopt a volume-based system, similar to those in 48 other states. If the tax system was based solely on volume, as proposed by the Beer Tax Reform Act of 2013, Tennessee would still have the nation’s highest effective beer tax rate. Cities and counties would not see a decrease in beer-tax revenues.

The Tennessee Beer Tax Reform Act of 2013, however, would halt the rocketing tax-revenue rise that has accompanied with a price-based, local wholesale tax.

#73: Common

Always wanted to do a steam beer.  Had Northern Brewer on hand, so away I went.  Pretty much went with Jamil's recipe from Brewing Classic Styles, though I rounded some things.  Missed my OG a bit, but that pretty much put me where Jamil's recipe is supposed to be.  RDWHAHB...

Common

California Common Beer

 

Type: All Grain	Date: 1/18/2013
Batch Size: 2.40 gal
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 4.33 lb Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM) Grain 70.52 % 1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 16.29 % 0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 8.14 % 0.25 lb Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4.07 % 0.06 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 0.98 % 0.33 oz Northern Brewer [10.50 %] (60 min) Hops 24.2 IBU 0.50 oz Northern Brewer [10.50 %] (15 min) Hops 18.2 IBU 0.75 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (1 min) Hops 1.9 IBU
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.060 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.054 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.016 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.85 %	New Est Alcohol by Vol: 5.21 %
Bitterness: 44.4 IBU	Calories: 241 cal/pint
Est Color: 15.3 SRM

Interesting statistics on pageviews

I have never really looked at the stats that Blogger provides before now.  I'm finding it interesting that a full 21% of my traffic is from Russia (with another 1% from the Ukraine).  Also, 11% from Germany, and a smattering from Canada and Israel.  I've gone global, baby!  ;)