Jerremy Weaver and Skip Webb have been quietly brewing beer and serving it to friends at events in the Middle Tennessee area for years. They have brought their taps to multiple ShakesBeers at Discovery Center, Oktoberfests at Oaklands and Taste of Rutherford. As well, they have won several awards for Best Beer at Unchained at the Mill and Wine on West End. Now, with new partners Johnathan Harmon and Elicia Fortner, they will be bringing this local favorite to a brick-and-mortar taproom at the end of this year.
“This all came together a few years ago after the homebrew event at The Grove at Williamson Place for Kymari House,” explained Harmon. “I won a free keg from Cedar Glade in the silent auction…[I hosted] a party that summer, and Skip and Jerremy showed up with several kegs. It was a great party. Shortly after that, I started talking with Jerremy and Skip about going legit. Elicia joined in to round out the partners. That was over two years ago. It has certainly been an adventure since then.”
Right now, they are targeting December 1 for their opening. Their taproom will serve primarily Cedar Glade beers, but they will have a couple of guest taps and some guest cans.
“We will have some packaged grab-and-go food and host food trucks,” explained Harmon. “We are definitely not chefs, lol.”
Getting Cedar Glade Started
It was Weaver who got the beer making going in 2013, and he was joined by Webb in 2018. They chose the name Cedar Glade because cedar glades are part of Middle Tennessee’s rich heritage.
“I started [making beer] because I liked the variety I could get from different craft beers,” explained Webb. “But more so was the creation process. I like the science of it. And the time it takes to truly craft a good beer.”
“For me, it was wanting to know, after having some great craft beer, why there was so much variety from beer to beer,” noted Weaver. “What was it that made each beer unique and individual? Traditionally beers have four main ingredients, but the [variation in] results from how you use those ingredients is astronomical!”
All About Their Beers
The most popular Cedar Glade beers are their lager, amber and IPA. People love their Berliner, too, since it is so different.
“One thing is that our beer is quite consistent even as home brewers,” said Webb. “It is clean, crisp and precise. That makes our regular, standard flagships very drinkable and clean.”
While they don’t get too bizarre, they do use fruit fairly often and once made a Snickers Stout that they say was awesome. They have also made a Belgian Strong with tart cherry and honey.
“[The Berliner] is pretty different and has gotten a lot of attention at festivals,” said Weaver. “It will be one of our flagships. It’s a lightly sour beer, very easy drinking. It’s delicious and refreshing on its own, but the cool thing is you can add a syrup — like you’d use on a snow cone — to make it whatever flavor you want. We’ve used lime, lemon, cherry lime, peach, orange, tangerine, pineapple, blood orange, grapefruit, cherry, and a few others. As for really weird, we haven’t made it yet. Would love some suggestions!”
How They Relate to Other Local Breweries
Mayday is the OG, according to the partners. Panther Creek is the next one. And Cedar Glade is the next one.
“The cool thing about all of us is that we all know each other,” said Weaver, “either from just being beer lovers or from Mid-State Brew Crew as home brewers. Craft brewing isn’t like other businesses. Yes, we compete. Yes, we brag and bluster a little. But at the end of the day, Mayday’s success helps Panther Creek succeed. Panther Creek’s success helps us succeed. Our success will help the next one. People that love craft beer love going to places where they can go to multiple venues in one trip. It truly is a ‘higher tide raises all ships’ type of industry. Because of this, our taproom will have a different vibe, a different atmosphere from Panther Creek and Mayday. It will be reflective of the owners.”
The partners all love the other two breweries, and hope they will be loved back. Their taproom will have a fun, family atmosphere.
“We want people to have business meetings at our taproom and be comfortable to come unwind,” said Harmon. “We want folks to bring their kids and their parents.”
Weaver and Webb are full time fathers and husbands with normal jobs that brew for the love of it. They started brewing out of their homes, taking up much of their garage space. On any given weekend, and sometimes holidays, they could be found working feverishly to keep up with demand. This space will get them out of their garages, and give them the ability to bring a bit of the feel of home to those who love their beer.
“Making something from a handful of ingredients and seeing the expression on people’s faces when they enjoyed one of my creations,” said Webb, “well, to be a little self-absorbed, it is almost self-validation. It fuels my creative nature.”
Cedar Glade Taproom will be located at 906 Ridgely Road behind Chuy’s, off of Broad Street. Follow Cedar Glade Brews on Facebook for the latest updates.
