Craft Brewers Conference
I told you last month that the big Craft Brewers Conference is returning to Nashville in May, and a big group of Tennessee brewers have come together to create a welcome gift for our visitors. On Wednesday, March 15, members of the Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild came together at Black Abbey Brewing Company to collaborate on a commemorative brew to share with the anticipated 12,000-plus attendees of the CBC.
Here’s the list of participating breweries:
- The Black Abbey Brewing Company (Nashville)
- Harding House Brewing Company (Nashville)
- Blackberry Farm Brewery (Maryville)
- Wanderlinger Brewing Company (Chattanooga)
- Johnson City Brewing (Johnson City)
- Jackalope Brewing Company (Nashville)
- Common John Brewing Company (Manchester)
- Kings Bluff Brewing (Clarksville)
- YeeHaw Brewing Company (Nashville)
- Tennfold Brewing (Nashville)
- Dark Shadow Brewing Company (Nashville - brewery in planning)
- Marrowbone Brewery (Ashland City)
- Cedar City Brewing Company (Lebanon)
- Cedar Glade Brews (Murfreesboro)
- Alliance Brewing Company (Knoxville)
- New Heights Brewing Company (Nashville)
Together, these talented breweries created a unique beer they named Tri-Star Blonde, a blonde ale made with 30 percent Tennessee-grown products including barley and corn. It was also a chance to shine a spotlight on the Guild’s Farm to Tap partnership with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, which promotes the use of locally grown ingredients in craft beer.
“Tri-Star Blonde captures the essence of Farm to Tap and the Guild,” say Sharon Cheek, Guild executive director in the official announcement of the brewing event. “From using Tennessee-sourced ingredients, to bringing brewers together from across the state, this ale spotlights our highly collaborative industry.”
The CBC brew team
Tri-Star Blonde also has the distinction of being brewed by an all-women team of brewers, and this beer’s ingredients were donated entirely by industry partners including Hopsteiner, Prairie Malt, Country Malt and Riverbend Malt. I’m sure that they will make us all proud when they pass out the cans at CBC!
Another alcohol achievement that should have Nashville chuffed revolves around Patrón Tequila’s global Perfectionists Competition, wherein mixologists from around the world showcase their skills by creating cocktails using the premium tequila.
One of the 16 global finalists is one of our own, Logan Demmy of The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club in East Nashville. Demmy has plenty of international experience, formerly working behind the stick as head bartender at the world-renowned 28 Hongkong St in Singapore, along with stints in New Zealand and Columbus, Ohio.
Demmy is among the 16 finalists invited to visit Hacienda Patrón in Jalisco, Mexico, where they’ll undertake challenges in front of a notable panel of judges including LP O’Brien, winner of Netflix’s Drink Masters. The cocktail that Demmy will attempt to impress the judges with is a creation called the Super Malo Fabulous, a concoction featuring Patrón Silver, vermouth, Madeira, Champagne and his secret weapon, an oleo-saccharum made using Nashville hot chicken spice.
The winner will be announced on March 29, so think good thoughts for our local hero!
Finally, a remarkable new cookbook has come across my desk, and I’m excited to share it with you. Chelsea O’Leary is the founder of Wiley Canning Company, a Nashville-based company dedicated to canning, pickling, and preserving fruits and vegetables. She shares her experience as a talented preservationist via subscriptions on her website or with virtual or in-person instruction sessions.
For many people, canning is a scary process. High heat, high pressure, exploding glass and deadly bacteria are all dangerous things that can come into play if you don’t know what you’re doing. But if you can follow a recipe and dedicate yourself to the process, it can be an important way to preserve the bounty of the seasons.
That’s where O’Leary comes in. Tomorrow, March 28, she will officially release The Wiley Canning Company Cookbook, published by Blue Hills Press, and I was fortunate enough to receive a preview copy of this wonderful book. The foreword is written by another beloved local cookbook author and poet, Caroline Randall Williams. Both Williams and O’Leary wax poetically about their personal family histories of preservation while also describing it as a political act to be able to break free of the industrial system that tells us what we can eat when by capturing the peak of fresh produce for later use.
O’Leary is dead-serious about safety and science, and each section of the book takes a deep dive into the hows and whys of the canning process. Interspersed with the delightfully nerdy stuff and exacting recipes are personal stories of the farming heritage of O’Leary’s family. As a Nashvillian, she focuses on the produce that is available from local farms with an eye on extending the season of some of her/your favorite ingredients, like tomatoes, corn and strawberries. A helpful seasonality chart is aimed at Nashville’s particular growing seasons, so that’s a nice benefit for local readers.
She shares techniques about canning, but also pickling, fruit preserves and even a really helpful primer about how to use your freezer to save extra fruits and veggies for future use. Clearly written and lavishly photographed, it’s a pleasant read even if you never boil a jar.
If you want to dip your toe in preservation, this book is aimed right at you. If you’re already an experienced canner, I’m certain that there’s still something to learn by reading this book. Buy your copy at the Wiley Canning Co. website or Amazon, if that’s your thing. And stay tuned for more on The Wiley Canning Company Cookbook in this week's forthcoming issue of the Scene!
