California's Sierra Nevada May Open Brewery in Tennessee
Sierra Nevada is looking for a new brewery location.
Already one of America's largest craft brewers, they're looking to step up production by building a 20 to 30 million dollar brewery in Alcoa, Tennessee, where until recently high-ABV beers were illegal. Gov. Bill Haslam has said he will sign into law the bill to establish legal guidelines on beer with an alcohol content of 5 percent to 20 percent. This includes a provision to allow brewers to sell the product on site.
It's this last part that Sierra Nevada is insistent upon - that they be able to serve and sample their beers on site, with a restaurant built alongside the brewery. We've seen local brewpub success in places such as Victory Brewing, where the restaurant offers over a dozen different beers brewed on-site. Offering guests the chance to taste and purchase the beer while visiting the brewery is a huge win for any brewer.
At this moment Tennessee law makes no distinction between high alcohol beer, wine or spirits.
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