Hello craft addicts. Yes, I am still alive and I still love
beer. The thing is- beer blogging pays nothing (at least for me). No cash. No
beer. Zilch. In other words, I only blog
when I am bored. Two jobs have kept me busy, but I did get a trip to NYC out of
it. I was able to visit Blind Tiger, Rattle and Hum, Pony Bar, and several
other notable beer bars.
I have been in and out of the loop, so hopefully I am not
forgetting anything. For starters, Turtle Anarchy is now open and kegs are
slowly making their way into distribution. I am hearing great things about Mike
Kraft’s flagship beers. Speaking of
Mike, Derrick Morse has taken Mike’s old position at Cool Springs Brewery, and
my fellow beer aficionados are raving about his beers as well. Franklin is really making waves lately, so I
need to head out that way. I am sort of embarrassed that I have not already.
Ohio-based Rivertown Brewing is now in distribution. Look for beers to trickle in on draft, and
eventually bottles. Sourheads be on the lookout for the unblended Lambic. It
was a big hit at the East Nashville Beer Festival. Not only that, when I was in
Dayton back in April, that was the most requested beer to bring back to the Nashville
crew. I brought back more than a case.
The Nashville craft beer scene continues to grow, and I
think good portion of that growth can be attributed to Matt Leff at Rhizome
Productions. His first rate events are exposing more people to craft beer, and
his social media proficiency has helped unite beer aficionados around the area.
He is keeping quite busy. Don’t believe me? On August 17th, tickets
go on sale for the Nashville Whiskey Festival (yeah it’s not beer, but they are
related). Visit nashvillewhiskyfestival.com for more info. We are not done yet. We
have Beerfeast. That will be held on September 22 at the Flying Saucer, and
will feature 60 beers from over 40 brewers. Then there is this:
And one more for the road. He has his paws in Live on the Green, in which Rhizome Productions will be organizing the beer
tents. This live music event is every Thursday from September 6 through October
11. The event is free, but sadly the beer is not. As of now, you may see me
managing one of the beer tents. Let’s just hope Matt does not play a cruel joke on
me and put me in a Blue Moon tent. More info on acts and dates can be found at www.liveonthegreen.net/
I hear that Murfreesboro-based Mayday is getting closer to the
finish line. You can follow their progress through their blog at http://maydaybrewery.blogspot.com/
. They are hoping to have production rolling around Mid-September.
Local homebrew guru Brandon Jones continues to get
interviews with rock star brewers via his blog Embrace the Funk. As far as the
local beer blogosphere, he has really stolen my thunder as of late. He has also
stolen my carboys, which were supposed to be filled with a Brett Saison. Still
hoping for their safe return, filled with beer.
I hope I covered everything. If not, I will amend this blog
entry. Sorry for bad grammar, long hiatus, and pale lager-esque beer journalism.
But at least it’s free!
Cheers,
Smitty
