Jackelope afternoon

In my short employment at the latest wine store, I appreciated their efforts to add social activities for staff. Back in mid-March - St. Patrick's Day actually - they took us on a tour of Jackelope Brewing's new production facility.

Jackelope  was the first brewery in the second wave of Nashville breweries entering the market at a time when Yazoo, Blackstone and the late, lamented Bosco’s were the only craft breweries in town. A discount on merchandise got me into a new T-shirt. The beers were quite good as well. Jackelope had numerous beer styles on tap, from Vienna lager to brut IPA to Belgian quad with plums. The operation has expanded significantly from the taproom and brewery in the Gulch.

The new operation in Wedgewood-Houston, known as The Ranch, houses the main brewery while the original facility has been turned over to experimental brews. The brewery is filled with soaring fermenters, several gurgling away as we walked through.

Pre-release Lovebirds

Our guide explained some innovations. Bearwalker Maple Brown could not be canned because the residual yeast would eat off the syrup and cans could potentially explode. The solution was a flash pasteurizer that momentarily heats the beer enough to halt the yeast and allow canning.

Leyak for later

Having toured Yazoo at a time when the brewery capped bottles six at a time, seeing Jackelope's line that cans 90 beers a minute showed the progress in getting Nashville brews out to retail.

In the cooler stood palettes of Lovebirds, their hefeweizen with strawberries and raspberries. Despite pressure to produce Lovebirds year-round – it is my favorite Jackelope product – all the fruit puree is difficult on the brewing equipment, so it will stay seasonal.

The one-off brews drew my interest. I tasted a variety of beers I would not normally seek out - Leyak bitter, Frimplepants Vienna lager and  Alpine White IPA.

The taproom traffic died off quickly on Sunday afternoon, even on St. Patrick’s Day. I thought about when I went all-out on that day, and how I had no zeal for anything beyond a green shirt to stop the pinching.

I brought home a small growler of Leyak, wanting another taste of English pub ale. To better approximate the actual experience, I let the beer sit on the counter for two hours before I drank. At room termpature, the hops sharpen, the malts are a little brighter. It’s a style American drinkers relish, but I applaud Jackelope for tackling an unappreciated beer.

Vienna lager and the usual notes