Our Origin Story - How Harding House Brewing Co. Got Started
Nashville is experiencing a craft beer boom with the majority of its breweries being open for less than 10 years. With the city growing as quickly as it is, Cameron Jones, Matt Fung-A-Fat, Nate Underwood and Tyler Pate saw an opportunity to bring their combined passion for beer to this growing market. We all saw and experienced the unique community-building qualities of beer and believe that there is a unique way for us to participate in Nashville’s brewing industry. With that in mind, we started Harding House Brewing Co., a brewery that exists to participate in creation by thoughtfully brewing artisanal beer that declares creation’s goodness and to pioneer a place where beer is used as a tool to grow community and where fellowship thrives.
Why start a nano-brewery?
Nate’s passion for using local farm-to-table ingredients to cook southern cuisine quickly gave birth to a similar brewing philosophy and caused him to wonder, “What does it look like to operate a brewery that intentionally puts itself in a box by brewing with the season, using locally sourced grain, hops, yeast and adjuncts?” Drawing inspiration from breweries like Fonta Flora Brewing and Fullsteam Brewery, Nate developed recipes to highlight the south’s agriculture during each of the four seasons. This yields strawberry saisons in the spring with strawberries from local farms, Belgian blondes with mulberries from trees around Nashville, and summer cream ales highlighting – not hiding – the use of an heirloom corn species to name a few of the brews. The result is an extremely fresh beer, full of variety and flavor given to us from the Earth.
What’s next for us?
This did not happen overnight and we anticipate never actually being satisfied with our progress. What started in a living room back in the winter of 2015, has now grown into plans to open our doors in the late spring or early summer of 2018. We hope to continue to grow our partnerships with Arrowhead Farm, Kindred Farm and more as we navigate what it means to be: Creatively Crafted. Uniquely Local. Seasonally Brewed.
Where did our name come from?
The name, Harding House Brewing Co., traces its roots back to the nickname given to a house on Harding Place here in Nashville where Nate lived after graduating from college. It is also the place where the inspiration for this brewery originated. Throughout the development process of the brewery, many things changed, but the name remained constant. To the people now involved with Harding House Brewing Co. the name represents more than a single location on a map or a single group of individuals. It represents a growing community seeking to affirm the good things in life over a pint. Our invitation to you is to join us as we continue to create our story. Stay up to date on the progress of opening up our brewery and taproom by signing up for our monthly newsletter and following us on social media.