TN Brew Works + Beer School Blog

A few months ago my friend, Scott Greenwood sent me an e-mail with one single line of text. "Claire," he wrote, "You need to write something about this new brewery, TN Brew Works." So after meeting the founders of TN Brew Works, Christian Spears and Garr Schwartz, it didn't take long for me to realize that Scott was right. This weekend, Garr and Christian stopped by our porch with a few growlers of their newest brews. And while I'm no beer buff, Brian Thiele and Josh Lauritch of the Beer School Blog offered to help navigate the way through the tasting.

To fill you in on the back story, Garr grew up in Nashville, but lived in New York City for ten years working for Lehman Brothers with his friend and co-worker, Christian. For years, Garr moonlighted as a home brewer, and Christian was his favorite test taster. After years of the daily grind, Garr and Christian made a huge leap—they left the world of finance and devoted themselves to the art of beer, aiming to open a craft brewery in Garr's home town (a much more affordable alternative to NYC) as soon as possible.

When they stopped by the porch, it became deliciously clear that Garr treats beer the way Evie Coates treats food. He knows it's special. He knows it's more than just hops, yeast and sugar. In fact, he makes sure of it. He explained that beer is really a lot more like wine than it's usually treated in the United States. It's meant to be enjoyed with food; it's meant to be sipped around a table—not sloshed on a fraternity floor. They brought perfectly curved glasses, encouraged us to swirl, sniff, and taste carefully.

My absolute favorite was the "Basil Ryeman," a smooth brew with hints of basil—it was so delicious, you could hear "wow's" all around the table. I immediately imagined sipping it with Italian food, or my favorite herb-crusted pork. But don't just take it from me. Make sure to check out Beer School Blog over the next week or so, for their favorites too! Even though I love a good beer, Brian and Josh know a whole lot more than I ever will.

Check out a few more photos of the tasting...

Christian and Josh

Brian Thiele knows beer.  Here he is, trying to put words on the good things he's tasting.

Though Garr still ferments his creations in the guest bedroom of his home in Franklin, a brick-and-mortar brewery is well on the way. They expect to open this summer—and I for one can't wait! TN Brew Works will be located on Ewing Avenue, just a stone's throw away from Jackelope and Yazoo. Brewer's row anyone?

Thanks so much fellas! Can't wait for the rest of Nashville to fall in love with your beer!

Don't miss these other Growing Up Gibson culinary adventures:

• Brooklyn Brewery Comes to Nashville
• The Joy of Sacrifice — a dinner at Triple L Ranch with Burger Up
• Wine Country — during our 2011 trip to California

Field Photos, Edition No. 4

The last few weeks have been filled with the kitchen remodel, a quick trip to South Carolina and a whole lot of writing. But along the way, I've taken a few interesting photos worth sharing...

Made a stop in at Dane Carder's studio.

Mays Hoisery Mill, circa 2013.

David McLeod's home studio.

(photo taken with iphone) - Patrick and one of the Motion Picture Boys, Nashville 2012 - NaFF.

.. and Cooper.

Brooklyn Brewery Comes to Nashville

It's a big week guys. It's a really big week. The Brooklyn Brewery Mash has finally come to Nashville.

If you haven't picked up a Brooklyn Brew at your local grocery store (or at the Taproom), here's the back story: Brooklyn Brewery was started in 1984 when owner and founder Steve Hindy, moved to the Park Slope neighborhood after a stint in the Middle East. Apparently, since beer (and all alcohol for that matter) is hard to come by in Muslim areas, Steve had grown a knack for home brewing. Like a true hipster (before that word was even invented), Steve quit his day job and put all his energies into "bringing good beer back to New York City." Now, over two decades later, Brooklyn Brewery isn't just confined to New York—they're spreading the beer gospel around the country—particularly with their latest creative endeavor, The Mash.

Throughout this year, Brooklyn Brewery is packing up and heading out to 11 different cities. They've already made stops in Austin and New Orleans, hosting beer tastings, dinner events, comedy nights and more. Now it's Nashville's turn to get a taste.

With The Mash finally upon us, and plenty of great events to choose from like a raging dance party at the Stone Fox, or a slow food dinner at Peter Nappi featuring Holly Williams, or a gathering with three unparalleled female entrepreneurs at Imogene and Willie, it might be hard to decide what to choose. So to navigate the Mash's hectic itinerary, I caught up with Brooklyn Brewery's Home Chef Andrew Gerson, to learn more about the vision behind this nationwide tour.

GIBSON: So tell me what it means to be a house chef at a brewery—I've never heard of that position.

GERSON: It's really sort of an evolution of Garrett Oliver, our Brewmaster at the brewery. He's been a longtime slow food man, really wrote The Brewmaster's Table which is like, the guide to beer pairings with food. So this was a continuation of that ideal. That food is such an important part of our culture, so is beer, and they meld so well together, that it made sense to to honor that connection with an actual position at the brewery. There will be a test kitchen, we're in the process of building that out hopefully in December.

GIBSON: Rumor has it you can speak Italian. Is that true?

GERSON: It is very true. I lived there off an on for three years. I did a two year masters in Italy, at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, that was actually in Italian.

GIBSON: Say something in Italian?

GERSON: (I don't know Italian, but it sounded legit and he told me he said) "I'm really excited to be in Nashville and to do the MASH tour here."

GIBSON: Tell us a little about The Mash, where did the idea come from to take a brewery on the road?

GERSON: Mash is a process in brewing, where malted barley is put into a big kettle, water is added, and you create what is called wert—it's the rich malty sugar liquid that makes beer. The idea of bringing together different cultures—you know there's this cultural revolution going on in Brooklyn, and there's this cultural mash of music, art, literature, food, and good beer and other good beverages. So the idea wasn't to come in and say "Hey we're Brooklyn, and we're coming to show you how great we are," it's to meld the culture of Brooklyn with all the cultures of the cities we're visiting. And to bring out something beautiful...

GIBSON: I hear that ticket sales will benefit Slow Food USA. Why is that important to Brooklyn Brewery? 

GERSON: Yeah! Garrett was one of the founding members of Slow Food USA, and my university in Italy was founded by Slow Food, so we both have very strong Slow Food roots, and more than that, we want to a desire to support the local sustainable food movement. Each city has a individual chapter, and each chapter can choose where it goes—it supports farmers, butchers, people who are using artisan and craft skills and applying them to the food world.

GIBSON: What were you most excited about experiencing in Nashville? 

GERSON: I'm excited about M.L. Rose tonight, and we're working with BurgerUP. I'm looking forward to seeing Peter Nappi's studio when we do our slow supper there on Thursday. And with any free time I have, I'm just very excited to go to some local honky tonks.

GIBSON:Has anyone recommended a good one to go to?

GERSON: We've had some recommendations but I'm always open to suggestions.

GIBSON: Roberts. Period.

GERSON: Roberts? Awesome.

GIBSON: People will look at this long list of events, and as much as they might want to, they might not be able to go to every single one, so if you could only choose one event to attend this week, what would you choose?

GERSON: I would say the slow supper event. I mean, I'm very excited for so much of what we're doing. But for me, it's one of our more special events. It's out of the box, and it's usually in a really interesting space, and it's all about communal eating: people coming together and sharing good food and good beer.  And to us that's the most important aspect to this whole MASH trip.

--

Thanks so much to Andrew and all the fine folks at Brooklyn Brewery for making it out to Nashville! Can't wait to eat some of your delicious food and enjoy what this MASH has to offer.

What about you - what event would you go to?

Kitchen Renovation: It's Really Happening.

Here we go guys. Tomorrow morning it's goodbye floor, see ya later appliances (thanks to the magic of Craigslist), and sayonara sink. In other words. This thing is really happening. And I'm terrified.

Here are a final few "before" shots.

I'm not sure what Cooper thinks of the whole impending mess...

But I think it's safe to say he's as anxious as I am!

Tomorrow, I'm planning on doing a live streaming blog of the demo process. (Not sure how it's going to work yet, but the plan is to publish a blog post, and then update it throughout the day with pictures and little anecdotes. Should be hilarious. Or hellish. Or both.) I hope you'll stop in digitally... or in real life.

I have a feeling we'll need some coffee.

The best Margaritas in Nashville

You guys. Today is National Margarita Day!

If you know anything about Patrick and me, you probably already know that we LOVE a good Margarita. Lime? Good. Salt? Good. Tequila? Gooood. So, in honor of National Margarita Day, here are the top three places to find a great one with salt on the rocks in Nashville. Also, make sure to make it down to the bottom to find the best margarita hack... ever.

1. Rumours East: 1112 Woodland St. - 615.262.5346 

Patrick and I spent our first date at Rumours East, and now, we're so excited to try the newest spot— Rumours Wine Bar in the Gulch!  (My friend Kim wrote a whole bunch about how Rumours closed and was reborn.) But whether you go to the East side or Midtown, don't just limit yourself to wine. Their margarita is one of the best around. Tart, tasty, and full of tequila—they may not have chips and salsa to go with it, but you'll surely be celebrating in style.

2. Taco Mamacita's: 1200 Villa Place -  615.730.8552

Though no one loves to wait, Taco Mamacita's top-shelf margarita is worth every minute (there will probably be 45). It's also worth every penny—all 900 of them. Anything with Gran Marnier and fresh squeezed lime juice will always be a winner in my book. Go for the "Cadillac," or if you can splurge an extra 50 cents, try the "Black Cadillac."

3. Rospepper Cantina: 1907 Eastland Ave - 615.227.4777

Last but most certainly not least, don't forget our favorite, Rosepepper Cantina. By far the best and most affordable margarita in town, Patrick and I pride ourselves on the fact that we figured out a brilliant Rosepepper hack. Show up before happy hour ends at 7. Order two $5 margaritas. Order one "combination" plate with 2 chimichangas for $9. Walk out with a bill under $20. That's whats up.

Tonight, to celebrate this the best of holidays, Patrick and I will be heading to Rosepepper at 6:00 p.m.! Come join us!