Drink Local
Farm to Tap initiative will help Tennessee brewers find locally sourced ingredients
The Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild wants to make it easier to enjoy a pint of Tennessee-sourced beer.
The Guild has launched the Farm to Tap initiative, a Tennessee Department of Agriculture-backed campaign to promote the use of homegrown ingredients in craft beers brewed throughout Tennessee. The initiative uses $350,000 of funding received from the General Assembly and aims to strengthen relationships between farmers and brewers and to raise awareness of locally sourced beers among Tennesseans.
“Craft brewers in Tennessee are creative and innovative, and many have already discovered the advantages of using Tennessee grown products,” Sharon Cheek, Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild executive director, said in a press release. “Farm to Tap is a tremendous opportunity to give an economic boost to our farm economy, provide new product lines for the ever-growing craft beer sector and give consumers more ways to support local businesses.”
The campaign will include one-on-one meetings with brewers and farmers, small group sessions, marketing campaigns and large festivals. It kicked off Tuesday with a panel discussion and launch event at Harding House Brewing Co. in Nashville, with more events planned in Knoxville, Memphis and other cities.
“It is really great for me to see the state and the Guild finally wake up to this idea and realize that there’s a unique opportunity that exists in our backyard to really set Tennessee beer apart,” Harding House co-founder Nate Underwood said. “(We can) create something that is unique instead of borrowing from other traditions.”
Tennessee has more than 100 craft breweries from Knoxville to Memphis, according to the Guild. They estimate the industry employs over 9,500 workers and generates $1.3 billion in annual economic impact.
‘Huge help’ for brewers
Harding House already sources several ingredients from farms throughout Tennessee, mainly native fruits that are already being grown in the state. It’s harder to find locally grown barley, which was once grown all over Tennessee but now has fewer applications outside beer brewing. The new initiative, Underwood said, will help put growers in contact with brewers and show there’s a demand for beer-specific ingredients.
“That’s going to be a huge thing for me as a brewer,” Underwood said. “That’s going to take a lot of work off of myself.”
Mike Jones of Teeter Farm and Seed Company in Clarksville cleans barley and other grains for brewing. He’s excited for Tennessee to join other states with well developed craft beer industries, including neighboring North Carolina.
“It provides more opportunities for farmers and people in agriculture,” Jones said. “I don’t think people realize how difficult it is to not only produce good beer but to produce it with local ingredients.”
Hops, for example, are tough to grow in Tennessee’s humid climate. Tennessee has a long history of growing barley, Jones said, but has to be malted to be useful for a brewer. Both Jones and Underwood aren’t aware of a Tennessee malt house – Harding House’s barley is
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