“Mashville: An Improbable History of Nashville Craft Beer,” an audio documentary created by M.L.Rose Neighborhood Pub, in partnership with 440 Media, tells the story of craft beer in Nashville, Tenn., and how local breweries have played a critical role in the local community for decades.
Through the seven-episode podcast series, listeners can meet the homebrewers who had a hand in transforming the palates of locals and Nashville’s overarching reputation as a regional powerhouse, and they can learn how antiquated laws, rapid gentrification, a financial crisis and even a natural disaster helped weave the very fabric of Nashville’s beer culture. Nearly two dozen voices in Nashville’s history in craft beer and otherwise contributed to the oral history project.
“This is a story about old Nashville and new Nashville,” said writer and creator Braden Gall of 440 Media. “An unlikely cast of characters came together at the exact right time to build an integral part of our city’s culture, and we all benefited from it.”
“Working on this project allowed me to relive many wonderful memories and define old Nashville as I experienced it,” Gall continued. “I went to high school, landed my first job, got married and welcomed my kids into the world in Nashville, so creating ‘Mashville’ began to feel like as much my story as it was the city’s.”
The tale of Nashville craft beer begins in the 1800s and charts a path through the city’s rich history of growth and change, including two Prohibitions, a global financial crisis, a 1,000-year flood, an international pandemic, and a host of harsh government regulations designed to hinder the success of craft beer.
Most importantly, it features the homebrewers who built Nashville’s craft beer scene from scratch.
“Craft beer is a critical piece of who we are and what we do at M.L.Rose,” said Austin Ray, founder of M.L.Rose. “‘Mashville’ was born out of our commitment to Nashville and the craft beer community, as well as our desire to make the industry’s local history, entrepreneurs, and tastemakers more widely known. After all, generations of craftspeople have risked a lot to deliver great beer to us all.”
“Mashville” also provides insight into how resilient Nashvillians are, consistently betting on themselves despite the odds, offering a unique perspective on the city that many have never experienced before.
“As a native Nashvillian and the author of a book about the history of local breweries, I thought I knew a lot about the beer scene in my hometown,” said Chris Chamberlain, co-writer and narrator. “Once Braden and I started digging into the stories and fascinating characters who built Music City into a regional craft beer powerhouse and making connections between the community’s development and brewery boom, I discovered there was so much more to learn. I’m delighted to invite folks to join in the insightful journey that is ‘Mashville!’”
Available everywhere podcasts are found, including Apple, Spotify and iHeart.
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