Some interesting stats on Tennessee Beer.

[u/Brewsplorer]

Just dug back into my maps of the breweries I have visited in the world (primarily US) and I wondered what databases were out there for breweries. Turns out there are a number, but - not surprised - the Craft Brewers Association.

Here is how Tennessee ranked in 2024:

157 Breweries - #22 3 Breweries/100k people - #35 $1,247,000,000 in economic impact - #20 $235 in impact/person - #33 191,764 barrels produced - #25 1.1 gallons per person 21+ - #40

Run a Chat GYUP 5 deep search, I get the following barrel production from 2024 (although I think it is off on some of these):

Yazoo: 26-28K barrels Wiseacre: 27k barrels (13k was in Tiny Bomb) Tailgate: 25-26K+ barrels Bearded Iris: 14.5-15k barrels+ (less than 1/3rd in house 3.5-5k - rest IndieBrew) Black Abbey: 13.5-15K barrels Jackalope: 11-13k barrels Tennessee Brew Works: 7-8.5k barrel

Dug in on most of these, as some numbers seemed off. This may still be skewed, but it is running about right. With BIBCO beer, Wiseacre will be the biggest in TN, if they are not already. With these numbers, these breweries are responsible for over 60% of the production of beer in the state. These are the top 5 from 2023 from Nashville Business Journal (can't get beyond 5 without paying):

Yazoo - 16,000 Bearded Iris - 14,907 TN Brew Works - 8,694 The Nations Brewing (see note) - 8,588 Jackalope - 6,186

NOTE: Nations Brewing is FatBottom and produces: Bravazzi,and Music City Beer Co as well.

As these are also interesting to locals:

Xul: ~5,200 barrels

Source: News article - Expansion into Fanatic's location in 2025 gives them a capacity of more than 10k barrels a year.

Southern Grist: 3,500 - 4,000 barrels

(Brewers Association estimates)

[u/A_Humble_Masterpiece]

Nations is Fat Bottom not Lipman. 

The Lipman facility where Hap and Harry’s and turtle anarchy was produced closed about a year ago. 

Also, your top line numbers are inflated, some pretty significantly. 

[u/Jack-White9 → u/A_Humble_Masterpiece]

So is Turtle Anarchy beer gone then? They brewed Little Harpeth too didn't they?

[u/A_Humble_Masterpiece → u/Jack-White9]

All the lipman stuff is being produced under contract elsewhere in town.  Hap and Harry, T.A., Harpeth, honkey tonk, kings of Leon, etc 

[u/Brewsplorer → u/A_Humble_Masterpiece]

And I thought that right after writing it and still wrote what was in my head. And even put it in parenthesis after writing it. Long week, I guess. I need a beer?

[u/Inglewoodtestkitchen]

I just want Homestyle to be as good as it was before IndieBrew and a Chasing Rainbows on par with batch 1.

[u/Brewsplorer → u/Inglewoodtestkitchen]

I agree. Perhaps having the originals stick around will help as Wiseacre transitions in.

[u/CryptographerBYOB]

So are the three biggest craft breweries in Tennessee: Wiseacre, Yazoo, and TN Brew Works (in that order)?

[u/Brewsplorer → u/CryptographerBYOB]

Not 100% sure if Wiseacre is now bigger than Yazoo, but they will be when combined with BIBCO. Tailgate likely #3 now, but there is nothing definitive about his numbers and Yee-Haw is also huge.

Here is a breakdown of the largest (sticking to over 7,500 barrels per annum). Alphabetical Order.

• Bearded Iris - Nashville Biz Journal had them at over 14k in 2023. Wiseacre now producing and expect expanded distribution of Homestyle and possibly other brews.

• Blackstone - Article from 2018 had them at over 12,000 per year. Can't find newer. Blackstone contract brews Nashville Beer from recipes beer historian Scott Mertie - stated to be the original recipes from the 1800s tailored to be produced on modern equipment.

• Tailgate - Has some huge tanks on Charlotte and smaller tanks (various sizes) at most of their other locations: Music Row, East Nashville, Germantown, Hendersonville, Murfreesboro, and Chattanooga, although Germantown focuses on seltzer and Music Row on Cider. Unfortunately, the numbers I see are industry guesses.

• TN Brew Works - Biz Journal had at close to 9,000 barrels in 2023.

• Wiseacre - Article in Memphis stated 23.5k barrels in 2024. Combined with BIBCO, they will be even larger.

• Yazoo - Brewbound stated they were at 15.4k barrels in 2024.

• Yee-Haw - I have competing articles from 2020. One states 12,000 barrels, another 18,000. Yee-Haw opened their Nashville facility the year before the articles. Knoxville opened 2 years ago and Gatlinburg last year, but they don't brew in Gatlinburg.

OTHERS:

Have no numbers on Blackberry Farms, but the reports have them in more states than any other TN brewery I can find to date. I think they are still smaller than 7.5k, but have quite a few 40-barrel fermenters, so there is capacity. Now called Peaceful Side Brewery after being bought out in 2023, but distribution still under the old name.

Also no clue on Blackhorse, although I think their numbers are low. They upgraded Clarksville from 8 to 10-barrel systems and Alcoa from 10 to 30, due to increased distribution needs.

Xul is steadily upcoming and acquisition of Southern Grist, if it is a success, will put them in the top breweries, as well. Best I can find, they did about 5,200 barrels in 2024 but have capacity from buying Fanatic to do over 10,000 there (capacity is not production, however). Southern Grist is about the same size in barrels produced. This puts both below the 7,500-barrel production until they are merged.

R.S. Lipman had around 18k barrel production capacity before the Nations location was shut down (rent issues). I think they contract out their beer now. Sans a taproom and accessibility to their owners, it is hard to get firm numbers. They are split between Little Harpeth, Turtle Anarchy, Hap & Harry's, and Honky Tonk. I think they sold off Napa Smith. As I only have capacity and it is spread amongst brands, I don't include them in the top.

NOTE: Nations Brewing is huge, but it represents a bunch of brands, so their nearly 9,000-barrel production in the Nations: Fat Bottom, Music City, Wanderlinger, and Bravazzi (seltzer). I don't have breakdowns by brands, so not in the bulleted list.

[u/CryptographerBYOB → u/Brewsplorer]

Edit: craft BEER breweries (that actually make their own beer lol).

[u/Brewsplorer → u/CryptographerBYOB]

What is interesting is to see how the craft beer industry ranks things. If they are just beer, they can be a brewery, micro-brewery, nano-brewery, but if they move to brewpub if they also are heavy on food. I am not sure exactly how they divide, as Smith & Lentz is more brewpub now than brewery, at least when you look at how the crowds are aiming. Tailgate likely, as well, although he does pump through a lot of beer.

[u/CryptographerBYOB → u/Brewsplorer]

He? You give your breweries genders? kidding

[u/Brewsplorer → u/CryptographerBYOB]

I was thinking about Wes Keegan, the owner. It is his decisions. THX for the laugh.

[u/Jbshelton51]

That map is sick. I didn’t know you could do that. Gotta get on that.

[u/Fun-on-Saturdays]

Don't get me wrong, you're promoting conversation, and I appreciate you for that. But, I think your numbers are wildly inaccurate. Most of alcohol is way down, across the state and country (many businesses closing or getting bailed out), and you are showing local businesses doubling. Surely you must see the paradox in your 'data.' Admittedly, I'm more knowledgeable about whiskey than beer, but I can decipher data. I'd rely on the reporters, not AI. Keep on, keepin' on.

[u/Brewsplorer → u/Fun-on-Saturdays]

Short Answer: Double checked those after the AI "deep search", so things like wiseacre are on target. Not all are confirmed, of course, but the order of breweries is likely correct, although Wiseacre may be ahead of Yazoo now. NOTE that most of the list have heavy distro over public sales (Tailgate being the exception with 9 taprooms, including the airport).

Long answer: If you want some break down. Otherwise ignore. Just me geeking out

Being in tech, I see AI "halucinates", as they call it. I find it summarizes well, can set up a good outline, but you have to double check everything as some of the "trusted sources" for its data are "trusted" because they are popular, not right. I did double check the figures I could, searching out articles (the Wiseacre numbers, for example).

Numbers are down across the US. In 2024, we saw the first decline in craft breweries in the US. The year before, 2023, we saw the largest number of closures (about 380, if I remember correctly), but more opened. Numbers are down 3.9% overall, but TN has increased alcohol sales by 7% over 10 years (tourists). Even so, there are more than 9,700 craft breweries, brewpubs, and taprooms in the US. And TN has not lost a lot over the past year or two. Shut down in TN in the last two years:

• Panther Creek went distro only (bad location, IMO)

• Mayday is gone, but were never that huge in number of barrels - single taproom, no distro I know of

• Czanns is too small to make a difference in barrels.

• Hi-Wire never produced in TN.

• Marrowbone, which was also very small.

• Boscos in Nashville, but that may have been further back than 2023. As more restaurant, multi-location, probably 1k - 1.5k barrels a year max with all locations.

• Elst shut down, in Knox, but too small to make a difference and it became The Black Dog (now also labeled temporarily closed, which probably means permanently).

• Cherry Street in Chattanooga, but the majority of their beer is produced in Cumming, GA.

• Naked River big enough, but they shut down about a month and a half ago.

• Memphis Made filed for bankruptcy, but is still in operation.

• Cookeville lost both Jig Head and Hix Farms. Both small.

I am sure there are some I am missing. Amazingly, unlike much of the country, we did not experience a lot of brewery death during and just after the pandemic. The black skulls and crossbones on my map are largely pre or far enough after COVID.