I'm Baaaaaack


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:

OK ladies and gents. I have officially gotten Jeremy Cowan founder of Shmaltz Brewing Company to come to Nashville! He will be doing a speaking engagement/book tour on Sunday August 26th at the Gordon Jewish Community Center. Tickets are $60 which includes breakfast during his speaking engagement from 11am-1pm, and then from 1-5pm there will be a small scale festival for 400 people, that will feature 10+ breweries with unlimited samples. Tickets-http://ticketalternative.com/Events/19391.aspx

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