Beer of the Week! 05/23/23

Southern Grist Brewing Company

Southern Grist Brewing Company in East Nashville became a gleam in its fathers’ eyes when homebrewers Kevin Antoon, Jamie Lee, and Jared Welch met through their jobs in the corporate world. Says, Welch, “Most people figure out how to be really good at something and then want to translate that into a business. We figured out how to run a business, and then we wanted to start our own.” Maybe that’s why three years after their 2016 opening, their new taphouse and tasting room was being written up in Forbes. (Seriously. Forbes.) Now, they have at least three locations, growin’ like a portfolio.

Co-founder and Head Brewer Welch started homebrewing in 2010. He says he fell in love with it, devoting all of his free time to it. When he started bringing his homebrew to Friday company get-togethers, the others there were impressed, most notably Antoon and Lee (also homebrewers). Eventually, the two approached Welch about going in with them to start their own brewery with him as the head brewer. So, how did he do? Let’s see …

Southern Grist Franco Crisp

Regularly $14.99 /Now on Sale for $13.96
French Style Pilsner

A “French Style” Pilsner is modeled after Alsatian Pilsners in the northwest corner of France, bordering Germany. (For the history of the Alsace-Lorraine just look up “lands that get traded back and forth between countries.”)

Alsatian Pilsners make use of French Pilsner malts and (sometimes) corn. They also use a European brewing process called decoction, which encourages more effective fermentation — useful for the poor quality malts that brewers used to have to use. Decoction also produces a more intense malt character for your lagers.

Alsatian Pilsners also use Alsatian-grown hops. Strisselspalt is the usual suspect. Welch and crew, however, opt for a newer Alsatian hop — Barbe Rouge, which imparts berry and citrus aromas and flavors.

Southern Grist doesn’t use corn, but they do use actual Alsatian malts, which certainly play a role in this Pilsner. It’s round and smooth, skipping the sharp edges of Czech and German versions. There may not be the familiar bite of Czech hops, but the Pilsner flavor profile is certainly there. If there is a hybrid between smooth and crisp, this beer is it.

Bonus Beer of the Week (‘Cause sometimes having just one good brew is un-beer-able!)

Southern Crisp Chop It Up

Regularly $15.99 / Now on Sale for $14.96
Brown Ale with Lactose, Toasted Coconut, Hazelnuts, and Cacao Nibs

Welch talks about the homebrews that he brought to his business buds as “the crazy shit that I liked to brew.” We imagine this beer is along those lines. Although, it’s pretty drinkable for how crazy it seems. (Isn’t that a mark of good brewing?)

For the Chop It Up, Southern Crisp makes a brown ale and mixes it with toasted coconut, hazelnuts, and cacao nibs. They also throw in some lactose to sweeten things up and to impart some richness. However, the resultant beer is not as sweet as you would expect (or fear, depending on your tastes). There’s a nice balance between the hazelnut, the coconuts, and the cacao. Go for this brew if you like stouts but can’t bring yourself to drink them as the weather gets warmer.

Remember!

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