Nashville’s craft beer scene has matured into one of the South’s most respected, anchored by independent producers who meet the Brewers Association definition of a craft brewer (small, independent, fewer than 6 million barrels annually). The three houses below have each cleared a decade of continuous brewing, hold Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild membership, and have earned recognition at Great American Beer Festival (GABF) or World Beer Cup judging. Each operates under a Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission brewery license with on-premise tasting room privileges, remits state beer tax to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, and brews to recognizable Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style targets across year-round, limited, and barrel or wild programs.
Quick Comparison #
| Firm | Credentials | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Yazoo Brewing Company | GABF Gold medal 2004 South German-Style Hefeweizen, Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild membership, BJCP style guidelines alignment across year-round lineup | Oldest production craft brewery in Nashville since 2003 with dedicated Embrace The Funk sour and wild cellar inside Madison purpose-built campus |
| Tennessee Brew Works | GABF medal 2021 for saison, Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild membership, BJCP style range alignment across blonde, witbier, IPA, and Belgian categories | Tennessee-grown grain focus inside three-story brewhouse with scratch kitchen and State Park Blonde Ale licensed partnership |
| Jackalope Brewing Company | 2018 GABF Gold for Cutaway IPA, 2017 GABF Bronze for Thunder Ann, 2015 World Beer Cup Silver for Bearwalker, RateBeer Brewery of the Year 2016 Tennessee | Multi-style medal record across English brown ale, American pale ale, and American IPA with first-Nashville canning since 2011 |
1. Yazoo Brewing Company #
Founded in October 2003 by Linus Hall and Lila Hall, Yazoo Brewing Company is the oldest production craft brewery in Nashville and a foundational name in Tennessee independent beer. Linus Hall continues as brewmaster, a rare two-decade-plus continuity at the top of the brewhouse that few regional peers can match. The brewery relocated from the Gulch to a purpose-built facility in Madison, where production capacity and the taproom now share one campus.
Brewing record and award history #
Yazoo’s GABF history opened in 2004 when Yazoo Hefeweizen took Gold in the South German-Style Hefeweizen category, the first major national medal awarded to a Nashville craft brewer. Additional GABF hardware followed in subsequent years, and the brewery’s smoked imperial porter SUE has been a recurring style benchmark since its 2009 release. The Embrace The Funk sour and wild program, run as a distinct cellar within the brewery, produces barrel-aged mixed-fermentation releases that have drawn national press attention in the American Wild Ale and Brett-forward categories.
Year-round lineup and limited releases #
The year-round lineup includes Yazoo Pale Ale, Dos Perros (a Mexican-style brown ale), Onward Stout, Hefeweizen, Sly Rye Porter, and Hop Project IPA, with SUE rotating in as a high-gravity specialty. Embrace The Funk releases sit on a separate calendar with smaller bottle counts, sold primarily through the taproom and select retail. Distribution covers Tennessee and select adjacent markets, and the brewhouse remains independently owned (no outside brewery or holding-company ownership).
Taproom, tours, and contact #
The Madison taproom is open Monday through Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Brewery tours are scheduled through the Tours page on the operation’s website. Address: 900 River Bluff Drive, Madison, TN 37115. Phone: (615) 891-4649.
2. Tennessee Brew Works #
Tennessee Brew Works opened in 2013 in Nashville’s SoBro district under founder and president Christian Spears, with early brewing direction from veteran consulting brewer Matt Simpson and current head brewer Clark Brandon at the helm of daily production. The brewery’s stated mission centers on Tennessee-grown grain, regional yeast character, and recipe development tied to state agricultural and cultural traditions, a focus that produced the first all-Tennessee-grain beer release in the brewhouse’s lineup in 2018.
Awards and style program #
The operation earned a Great American Beer Festival medal for its saison in 2021, validating a style that demands tight attestation of farmhouse yeast character, attenuation, and finish. World Beer Cup and additional GABF recognition sit on the broader resume across the brewing team’s careers, and the brewhouse’s recipe sheet aligns to published BJCP style ranges across blonde ale, witbier, IPA, and Belgian-influenced categories.
Beer lineup and food program #
Year-round beers include State Park Blonde Ale (the official beer of Tennessee State Parks under a licensed partnership), Urban Hiker, and Southern Wit. Seasonal releases such as Wildwood Flower and Walk the Lime rotate through the calendar, and the taproom kitchen, run by executive chef Alex Leibow, pairs a scratch food menu to current draft lines. The taproom occupies a three-story brewhouse with open views of the fermentation cellar from the upper bar.
Visiting and contact #
Address: 809 Ewing Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203. Phone: (615) 436-0050. Distribution extends across Tennessee, and tours and tastings are arranged through the brewery’s website.
3. Jackalope Brewing Company #
Jackalope Brewing Company opened in May 2011, co-founded by Bailey Spaulding and Robyn Virball as one of the first female-founded production breweries in the United States and the first Nashville craft brewer to package its beer in cans. The brewery now operates from a larger Wedgewood-Houston production house and taproom known as The Ranch, with founder Bailey Spaulding remaining active in the brewhouse following the 2024 ownership transition.
Medals and competition record #
The brewhouse holds a 2015 World Beer Cup Silver medal for Bearwalker Brown Ale, a 2017 Great American Beer Festival Bronze medal for Thunder Ann American Pale Ale, and a 2018 GABF Gold medal for Cutaway IPA. RateBeer named the operation Brewery of the Year for Tennessee in 2016. The medal record covers three distinct style families (English-influenced brown ale, American pale ale, and American IPA), an indicator of recipe depth rather than single-style specialization.
Beer lineup and packaging #
Year-round and rotating beers run across pale ales, IPAs, brown ales, and small-batch releases pulled from the pilot system. Canned distribution covers Tennessee and select neighboring states, with kegs available through both the taproom and licensed accounts. Bar Jackalope, a separate neighborhood-facing room at the Wedgewood-Houston campus, pairs Jackalope draft lines with food, craft cocktails, wine, and board games.
Taproom and contact #
Address: 429B Houston Street, Nashville, TN 37203. Phone: (615) 873-4313. The taproom hosts on-site pours, growler and crowler fills, and small-batch first-pour events tied to pilot-system releases. Tour scheduling is handled through the brewery’s website.
Choosing among the three #
All three houses meet the Brewers Association independent craft definition, hold Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild standing, and brew on equipment sized for both taproom pours and packaged distribution. Yazoo brings the longest continuous brewing record in Nashville and a dedicated sour and wild cellar in Embrace The Funk. Tennessee Brew Works pairs a Tennessee-grain focus with a scratch kitchen inside a purpose-built three-story brewhouse. Jackalope holds the deepest national medal record across multiple BJCP style families and a packaging-first history dating to its 2011 founding. Visitors planning a multi-stop afternoon can reach all three within Davidson County, each with on-premise pours under a Tennessee ABC tasting room endorsement.
Selection Methodology #
Nashville breweries sort against three signals: TTB Brewer’s Notice and TABC brewery license under TCA 57-5 with on-premise tasting-room privileges, Brewers Association independent-craft definition compliance (less than 25 percent of the brewery owned or controlled by a beverage alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer), and GABF Great American Beer Festival or World Beer Cup medal recognition on the flagship lineup. The three breweries above each hold an active TTB Brewer’s Notice and TABC brewery license, list Brewers Association independent-craft status, hold GABF or World Beer Cup recognition where claimed, document BJCP Beer Judge Certification Program style-guideline alignment on the published beer card, run Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild membership, and operate from a Davidson County brewhouse with a tenured operating history. Contract brewers without an in-state still floor were excluded.
Frequently Asked Questions #
Q: Can I bring kids or dogs to the taprooms?
A: Each brewery sets its own policy. Yazoo’s Madison campus and Tennessee Brew Works generally welcome families during daytime hours, with dedicated kid menus or food trucks on site. Jackalope’s Ranch in Wedgewood-Houston runs a relaxed atmosphere with dogs welcome on the patio. Confirm current policy with each brewery before arriving with a group.
Q: How do tours and tastings work at each brewery?
A: Yazoo, Tennessee Brew Works, and Jackalope each schedule guided tours through their websites, typically running 45 to 60 minutes and including a tasting flight on the brew floor. Walk-up tastings are available at all three taprooms during regular hours without a tour booking, with flights of four to six small pours as the standard format.
Q: Are any of the three breweries paid placements?
A: No. The three profiles above are editorial selections drawn from publicly verifiable sources. No firm sponsored placement.
Q: Can I take beer home from the taproom in growlers, crowlers, or cans?
A: Each taproom sells some combination of growler fills, 32-ounce crowler cans, and packaged four-packs or six-packs to go. Jackalope was the first Nashville craft brewer to package its beer in cans and runs a strong to-go program. Yazoo and Tennessee Brew Works both offer growler fills and packaged distribution at the taproom counter.
Editorial Note #
This guide was published on 2026-05-11 and reflects research current as of that date. Verify licenses, phone numbers, and current business status before engaging any firm.