RadCraft Presents Near Beer, A Celebration of Place, at Harding House Brewing During The 2023 Craft Brewers Conference
This Craft Brewers Conference event is a celebration of breweries who are inspired by place.
NASHVILLE, TN— The Farm to Table movement is alive and well in the beverage industry as breweries with hyper-local ethos are popping up around the country. This event is a celebration of some of those breweries who are inspired by place.
Come taste those places at Near Beer at Harding House Brewing Company in The Nations neighborhood of West Nashville during the Craft Brewers Conference on Tuesday, May 9 from 5 to 10pm. The breweries pouring include Scratch Brewing Company from Ava, Illinois, Fonta Flora Brewing from Nebo, North Carolina, Fullsteam Brewery from Durham, North Carolina, and Free Range Brewing from Charlotte, North Carolina. Most of the breweries participating are Craft Malt Certified™, some of them grow their own ingredients, and all of them engage with nearby farms to source their recipes.
“Our unofficial industry tagline is buy local, but craft breweries don’t always do that themselves,” says the Co-Founder of Harding House Nate Underwood, who spearheaded Near Beer. “We wanted to celebrate and hang out with those breweries who walk the walk. Purchasing local agricultural ingredients isn’t always easy or inexpensive, so we’ve got to stick together. Using local malt, hops, and ingredients is what makes craft beer fun, flavorful, and diverse.”
Near Beer is open to the public, and CBC ticket holders will receive beer discounts.
Media interested in credentials to this event can contact Emily Hutto at hutto@radcraftbeer.com.
ABOUT HARDING HOUSE BREWING CO.
Homebrewer-turned-brewmaster Nate Underwood brought his passion for local agriculture into his brewing style at Harding House Brewing Co. This brewery is named after the nickname given to a house he lived in on Harding Place here in Nashville, the place where the inspiration for the brewery originated. Co-owned by Matt Fung-A-Fat, Tyler Pate and Cameron Jones, Harding House strives to better the community in which it exists. This includes providing quality jobs and creating new agricultural economies. Harding House is committed to using the brewery as a place for the people of Nashville to gather and grow together. Learn more at hardinghousebrew.com.
ABOUT RADCRAFT
Founded in 2012 by Emily Hutto, RadCraft provides communications support for the beverage industry. From breweries and distilleries to maltsters and their affiliates, RadCraft’s partners are makers of thoughtful products and cultivators of radical ideas. Beers and spirits should tell stories about brands, and RadCraft loves a good story. Learn more at radcraftbeer.com.
Bootleg Biology, Harding House Brewing Co., and Riverbend Malt House Present Inaugural Southern Lager Invitational During 2023 Craft Brewers Conference
Harding House and several other craft breweries in the South are currently fermenting lagers made with Riverbend malt and unique yeast strains from Bootleg Biology to serve at this innovative beer showcase.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE— Bootleg Biology, Harding House Brewing Co., and Riverbend Malt House have engaged the South’s leading tastemakers to craft their expressions of ‘Modern Southern Lager’ to kickoff the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) on Sunday, May 7 at Harding House Brewing Company in The Nations neighborhood of West Nashville.
So what is a Modern Southern Lager? Open to interpretation, this unofficial beer style tends to be a dry-finishing, lower-ABV beer with a big frothy head and a hint of corn sweetness that is counterbalanced by relatively assertive hop bitterness. It pairs well with sweltering heat.
Think of this style as an update to the Pre-Prohibition Lagers that relied on 6-row barley and flaked corn to provide a lighter alternative to the all malt lagers from Europe. Now, new 2-row winter barleys are flourishing across the South and malt companies like Asheville’s Riverbend Malt House are offering craft brewers access to high quality, locally-malted barley and corn that update this style with bolder flavors.
Riverbend and yeast laboratory Bootleg Biology have encouraged craft brewers across the South to brew their answer to the question ‘What is a Modern Southern Lager’ to serve at a celebration of long, cold fermentation at this upcoming CBC event. They’ve teamed up with host Harding House Brewing, whose dedication to local agriculture shines in unique beers brewed with plants native to Tennessee and partnerships with organizations aiming to shorten supply chains.
Harding House and several other craft breweries in the South are currently fermenting lagers made with Riverbend malt and unique yeast strains from Bootleg Biology— including ARL: The Southern Lager Yeast— to serve at this innovative beer showcase. “When it comes to Pilsner,” says Jeff Mello of Bootleg Biology, “The South has something to say. The lager movement is strong in our region, and it will be defined in the glass at this event.” Look for Czech, German, and American styles reimagined with local ingredients!
Here is the current brewery list:
BarrieHaus Beer Co.
Barrique Brewing & Blending
The Brutalist in collaboration with King State Beer
Cahaba Brewing Co.
Cellarest Beer Project
Cherry Street Brewing
DSSOLVR
East Nashville Beer Works
Fait La Force Brewing collaboration with Our Mutual Friend
Fonta Flora Brewery
Fullsteam Brewery
Harding House Brewing Co.
Inner Voice Brewing
Little Animals Brewery
New Anthem Beer Project
Sceptre Brewing Arts
Soul and Spirits Brewery
TennFold Brewing
The Southern Lager Invitational will take place on Sunday, May 7 at Harding House Brewing Co. from 7 to 10pm. All CBC participants get free entry with proof of conference participation. This inaugural event is made possible by sponsors Boelter, who are providing custom glassware for all participants, and Dynamark. Bad Luck Burger Club will be slinging their famous smash burgers. Frothy Monkey Bakery will bring breads to taste made from spent Southern Lager grain.
Media interested in attending and or covering the Southern Lager Invitational can contact Emily Hutto at hutto@radcraftbeer.com.
ABOUT BOOTLEG BIOLOGY
Bootleg Biology is a full-service yeast lab for professional brewers and homebrewers.
From our location in Nashville, TN, we’ve earned a reputation for creative cultures that meet the rigorous demands of a brewery while still satisfying brewers’ goals to push the envelope.
From crispy lagers and juicy IPAs to complex mixed fermentations, Bootleg has a culture for every brew. All of our yeast is made fresh, ensuring optimal viability and keeping you on schedule.
Our lab offers a wide range of quality control testing to ensure your product meets your high standards, including PCR testing for common contaminants, IBU testing, selective media plating and more.
ABOUT HARDING HOUSE BREWING CO.
Homebrewer-turned-brewmaster Nate Underwood brought his passion for local agriculture into his brewing style at Harding House Brewing Co. This brewery is named after the nickname given to a house he lived in on Harding Place here in Nashville, the place where the inspiration for the brewery originated. Co-owned by Matt Fung-A-Fat, Tyler Pate and Cameron Jones, Harding House strives to better the community in which it exists. This includes providing quality jobs and creating new agricultural economies. Harding House is committed to using the brewery as a place for the people of Nashville to gather and grow together. Learn more at hardinghousebrew.com.
ABOUT RIVERBEND MALT HOUSE
Riverbend Malt House is on a quest to connect Southeastern family owned farms and fermenters. Co-Founders Brent Manning and Brian Simpson launched Riverbend, the first craft malt house east of the Mississippi River, in Asheville, North Carolina in 2010. Buoyed by a 70,000 square foot production facility and state of the art equipment, Riverbend Malt House helps breweries and distilleries large, small, and in-between stand out with flavor, locality, and community in an increasingly competitive landscape— all the while challenging the status quo of corporate, big-agriculture malt. Learn more at riverbendmalt.com.