Tennessee’s top natural attraction is, without a doubt, the Great Smoky Mountains. Home to some of the highest peaks in the eastern United States, the Great Smoky Mountains are a tourist stronghold and the national park that bears their name is the most visited in the entire park system. But there is another attraction in Tennessee worthy of your time; an attraction that brews amazing, award- winning beer that just happens to be located relatively close to the park’s main entrance. The attraction is Blackberry Farm Brewery, the proud recipient of a Silver Medal at this year’s Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado.
Taking home the precious medal was Blackberry Farm Brett Saison, a golden farmhouse ale and one of Blackberry’s Barrel Series beers. This beer features the funky attributes common to any brettanomyces beer, but with the added charm of barrel aging. But this award- winning brew isn’t aged in whiskey barrels or the barrels of some other liquor. No, this beer is aged in French oak red wine barrels for a truly unique taste and Blackberry Farm Brewery Chief Fermentation Officer Roy Milner is proud that he and his team were recognized for their barrel aging expertise.
“Our guys bring so much passion and dedication to their work every day, it’s an honor to call them friends and teammates,” said Milner. “We started our barrel program one year ago, and Brett Saison was our very first release. To bring another Silver Medal home from such a respected gathering of industry peers is humbling to say the least.”
2016 was only the second year that Blackberry Farm Brewery has entered beers into the Great American Beer Festival competition. The first time was last year and the brewery has been recognized with a Silver medal each time. In 2015, Blackberry Farm Brewery took home the award for its Summer Saison. That makes two identical medals for two different beers, but this year’s recognition was more impressive due to the nearly 1,000 additional beers entered into the competition compared to last year. Blackberry Farm Brewery Brewmaster Daniel Heisler felt this year’s award was particularly satisfying because the beer and its series are still new.
“It’s always wonderful being able to visit with friends while at GABF, and to have our young barrel program receive this recognition for its first release was truly exciting.” said Heisler.
The Blackberry Farm Brewery won another prestigious award earlier in 2016 when its Classic Saison took home the Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup. That makes one Gold Medal and two Silver Medals for a brewery that has only been producing beers and sending them to competitions for a very short time.
With so many awards under its young belt, the future looks very bright for Blackberry Farm Brewery, a place you don’t want to miss on your next visit to East Tennessee. It’s only about 25 miles from the Knoxville, TN airport and less than an hour away from Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Blackberry Farm is more than just a place for great beer- it is a fully functioning farm with a hotel, restaurant, winery, and more. Check it out the next time you’re in East Tennessee and enjoy the award- winning hospitality that emanates from one of the area’s best kept secrets.
For more information on Blackberry Farm Brewery, please visit online at http://www.blackberryfarm.com/brewery or follow in social media using these links:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/blackberryfarmbrewery
Twitter: www.twitter.com/blackberryfrm
Instagram: www.instagram.com/blackberryfarm
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