What made you decide to start a brewery? As a child I wanted to be a chef, and a business owner. I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to afford culinary school, so that dream was put on the back burner. In 2010 I was given the opportunity to brew and learn the craft at a brewery in San Diego (my hometown), at that time it clicked. I then knew what type of business I wanted to own, a brewery. I was able to carry my passion for cooking into brewing and develop my own recipes and experiment with flavor profiles. At that point I began to develop my plan to open a brewpub and fulfill several childhood dreams.
How many beers do you have on tap? We have 10 taps at Evill Nash that rotate often with our house brews.
What are some of your favorite beers and why? My favorite styles of beer are the darker, malty beers; I really like brown ales, stouts, and porters. I prefer well balanced brews and gravitate to what some may describe as weird beers.
Do you have any seasonal brews coming out? We always brew at least one or two beers that coincide with the season, though I can assure you that you won’t find a pumpkin spice beer at Evill Nash. We do have a spiced imperial stout coming up that was brewed with dark chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chipotle, as well as a hot chocolate brown ale brewed with cocoa and marshmallow.
What are some of your most popular beers? Our top sellers have been our Ryeonheart Barrel Aged Scotch Ale brewed with malted rye and aged in Leatherwood Distillery’s Rye Whiskey barrels, any of our Sours that we brew, currently our De La Peanut Butter Blonde Milk Stout, and our Countrypolitan Corn Lager. Each person’s taste is different, so our best sellers change just as much as our rotating taps.
What should travelers be excited about? What will they experience? Travelers will experience a laid-back atmosphere with great music, good beer, and unique menu items.
What do you think the brewing community will look like in 5-10 years? My hope is that we all get to grow together, collaborate, and create a nationwide following for Clarksville beer. I can see great potential here in Clarksville and I do believe that in 5-10 years we will have a thriving brewing community here in an already thriving and expanding city.
Find more information on their website: evillnashbrew.com/
What made you decide to start a brewery?
I started home brewing in 1990 and the love of brewing started then. I was working in a small brewery in Upper MI before opening this place doing all the dirty jobs that the brewery has to offer and realized I was happier doing that than working for corporate America. After my wife got laid off, we decided it was time for us to do something for us and so we took the leap and opened Tennessee Valley Brewing Company.
How many beers do you have on tap?
We have 10 beers on tap. We also have 2-3 ciders available in cans at any one time for those looking for a gluten free option as well.
Do you have any seasonal brews coming out?
We still have some Oktoberfest available, but it won’t last long. Coming up our Night Stalker Stout (dry Irish Stout) and Bastogne Brown (pecan nut brown) will be coming up soon. Our second round of Keto Beer will be out soon (low calorie, low sugar and low carb beer). Also, as the holidays roll around, we will be bringing back a braggot and some fun beers, like Teddy Grahams (graham cracker and caramel nut brown), S’Mores (just like it sounds).
What are some of your most popular beers?
If it isn’t a seasonal release like Oktoberfest, our top sellers are the Snake Eater IPA and Mockingbird Brown.
How would you describe your beers?
Most of our beers are brewed to style meaning no additional flavors have been added. Now we do offer some fun beers that we have played with, but for the most part they are to style. We currently offer a Pale Ale, NEIPA, Nut Brown, Amber, Light Lager, Stout, Radler, these cover a wide range of styles on the market now.
Are there any upcoming events that you’re especially excited for?
We offer monthly comedy shows that we are always excited for. These comics come from around the US and have been showcased on Comedy Central and have headlined various comedy venues throughout the country. We also have a Halloween Party, Friendsgiving, Christmas and NYE parties in the works. Every Tuesday we offer trivia hosted by a local veteran radio personality Joe Padula, which makes it a fun event filled with lots of laughs.
What should travelers be excited about? What will they experience?
We are a family friendly venue that offers a cozy atmosphere. They will experience in an inviting brewery and a friendly staff. We have a wide variety of beers that will suite any palate.
What makes you stand out from your local competitors?
Wide variety of styles that are locally produced, warm and cozy atmosphere, monthly comedy shows and owners that very chatty and welcoming and will offer a tour anytime.
Find more information on their website: www.tnvalleybrewing.com/
What made you decide to start a brewery?
I began my career brewing as a Distiller. I would make different distilled spirits at my house, Then I was given a Mister Beer all extract brewing kit for my birthday. I made it the next day and a few weeks later I tasted it, it was horrible. I bought another and it was a little better. I then switched to all grain brewing and that’s when my creative side took off. I was creating recipes and learning the grains and yeasts and how they paired with each other. So, I began purchasing bigger and better equipment as I went. I was brewing once or twice a week and making a lot of beer. So, I taught myself how to keg and how to carbonate my own beer.
Pretty soon I had made so much beer that I started attending local craft beer events, giving out my free samples to anyone who would stop by my little tent and tell my story of being ready to retire from the Army after 22 years to pursue my passion of brewing beer. The reaction was overwhelming! I was getting calls and Facebook messages asking where they could get more and what I was going to brew next so I came up with a plan to begin showing up in the parking lot of my local grocery store on the weekends with a pickup truck full of kegs and growlers. I would post online where I was going to be, and they would come to refill or grab a growler.
Over several months I had enough money saved up to put a down payment on a commercial brew system. From that point on, I knew what I was going to spend the rest of my life doing. Learning, brewing, and trying my best to put smiles on the faces of everyone who walks through my doors.
How many beers do you have on tap?
We always have 10 different brews on tap and try to keep them rotating with the season or what we feel the patrons would like to drink.
What are some of your favorite beers and why?
I am a very loose beer drinker. Mood dependent I like to try a little of everything and imagine what went into it and how I could make it better.
Do you have any seasonal brews coming out?
This is the season of our Oktoberfest beer. We also have a great Belgian Triple that is coming at ya. We also have several barrel aged dark beers that have been soaking in fine Kentucky bourbon barrels for almost 2 years now that we are ready to bottle and sell to our customers. This will be only our second barrel aged brew to be released so we call it 002.
What are some of your most popular beers?
The popularity changes with the seasons but we have three heavy hitters that sell out VERY quick!
Are there any upcoming events that you’re especially excited for?
We have a great time at the brewery! Every day is something different and most of the time completely impulsive. Our Trivia nights sometimes turn in to Karaoke, Our live music nights turn into singalongs with standing ovations or finish up with several Pixie Stick challenges for the brave souls who attempt to break the record time of downing a jumbo 4 foot pixie stick as fast as they can, all to have their time and bragging rights displayed for all to see.
What should travelers be excited about? What will they experience?
We are located right off highway 24 and regularly get travelers from all over stopping in. They get the exact same Southern hospitality that our coveted regulars get. Everyone is greeted when they walk in and a “see y’all” when they leave! We are completely family and pet friendly and try very hard to distance ourselves from the bar scenes in town.
What makes you stand out from your local competitors?
I don’t really feel that we have any competitors as all the breweries in town have settled into their own little niche and I think that we all offer a different vibe which is great. It does get frustrating sometimes when you see another brewery begin to copy something that you have been doing for a while and using it too but, that really keeps our drive to stay ahead of the business and continue to innovate new creative brews, and events.
What do you think the brewing community will look like in 5-10 years?
I would like to see a lot more breweries come into Clarksville. I think it would not only assist in the tourism aspect but create a great stopping point for those traveling into or out of Nashville. If I were king for a day, I would incentivize the local craft breweries to expand through grants and special loans which will inevitably drive tourism. We have great facilities for softball, golf, basketball and soccer tournaments but realistically, what is there unique to do here for the parents? What will make them want to return year after year? The uniqueness of this City should be something they can’t get anywhere else, Local craft beer, with a great environment should be at the top of the list!
Find more information on their website: www.starspangledbrewingco.com/
What made you decide to start a brewery? Really an obsession for making quality beer in a place where great beer was hard to find. Essentially, you know what's in your beer when you brew it yourself, you control the quality, and you decide the style. What could be better? Easy answer! Clarksville needed a place reminiscent of Asheville NC, or even Nashville where people could hang in a mellow environment, enjoy high quality craft beer, enjoy a food truck, and not worry about feeling accepted somewhere.
How many beers do you have on tap? Currently, we have 13 taps, one of which is taken up by our Puppy Pilsner. It's essentially broth for dogs, served from the tap with proceeds going to local charities benefiting our 4-legged friends.
What are some of your favorite beers and why? Tough call. I'm a big fan of Belgian beers, as well as balanced IPA's, and experimental beers utilizing fresh seasonal ingredients. We don't back down from a challenge!
Do you have any seasonal brews coming out? For sure! Our next seasonal is our Chrimmas Ale. It's a lovely English beer with a note of cranberry and rosemary. It tastes like Christmas!What are some of your most popular beers? By far, our most popular beers are the Liberty Park IPA which is a citrus forward, lower bitter IPA. Also, our Bun N Cream Stout is a crowd favorite. Named after Johnny's Big Burger Dessert, the Honeybun and Ice cream, it has notes of sweetness, roastiness, biscuit, and creaminess.
How would you describe your beers? In a word, ELEVATED. We believe in taking beer beyond the pedestrian. We really try with our beer on every level. We use fresh grains we mill ourselves, we cultivate yeast using live lab tested strains, and we research new techniques constantly to bring our customers the best beer possible.
Are there any upcoming events that you’re especially excited for? We just finished up our Ales from the Crypt Halloween Party, and have plans for a Friendsgiving this November. We have events nearly every week, whether it's a special food truck, movie night, or brunch.
What should travelers be excited about? What will they experience? Every person who comes to KBB is a friend, and can expect to be treated like one. Whether it's hanging with friends and playing games, or chilling at the bar and talking beer with the staff, they'll get a great beer in a mellow environment every single time. There's something for everyone here!
What makes you stand out from your local competitors? Flavor mostly. We make great beer, and we're not shy about it. We're also here to represent a changing of the guard in Clarksville. We're excited to be a part of the new culture of our growing downtown, and proud to be able to serve our friends and neighbors excellent beer for a long time to come.
What do you think the brewing community will look like in 5-10 years? Hopefully it continues to grow, and the local breweries all work together to protect this amazing thing we've all built. We're ultimately better together. KBB will continue to grow, and we want everyone to grow along with us.
Find more information on their website: www.facebook.com/KBBrewery/
