Back in 2009 hidden in an alley off the main drag in Nashville, Brown County, Indiana three friends decided to take Co-Founder Tim O’Bryan’s home brewing hobby and turn it into a business. It was back then that Tim along with partners Ed Ryan and Jeff McCabe started their 800 square foot brewpub. The brewpub was open five days a week Wednesday through Sunday and the same thing would happen every week. By the time Sunday rolled around if not before, they were completely sold out of beer. They knew they were on to something.
As their customer base grew so did their footprint. The small 800 square foot restaurant soon expanded and two years later they opened a second location across the alley with a family style restaurant serving their own beer on tap, pizza and a variety of comfort foods. In 2012 they expanded again by purchasing a building on the edge of town to build a standalone brewery to meet the growing demand of their Quaff ON! beers for their restaurants plus more than 1,000+ taps throughout the state.
A Decade Later: Big Woods Restaurants, Quaff ON! Brewing Co. & Hard Truth Distilling Co.
Fast forward a decade later and the operations have grown exponentially to include Quaff ON! Brewing Co., the 40,000 square foot Hard Truth Distilling Co. and seven restaurants (with another on the way) throughout Indiana.
The company has just announced that Quaff ON! Brewing which is currently the third largest craft brewer in the state by volume will nearly double production with a new 20,000 square foot brewery. The new brewery will be built on the company’s Hard Truth Hills 325 acre destination site on the outskirts of Nashville. The site is already to home to one of their restaurants and the distillery.
“By moving the brewing company to our destination distillery campus, we now have a one-of-a-kind facility in southern Indiana with unforgettable experiences for our visitors. Everything from Big Woods at Hard Truth Hills, craft spirits and craft beer are all made onsite,” said Jeff McCabe, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of BWQOHT Inc. “Our main priority has always been to ‘wow’ our guests, and this move will take our offerings at Hard Truth Hills to the next level.”
The brewery will be built on the Hard Truth Hills property just north of the distillery. It will feature expanded terraces and a glass exterior wall providing visitors an unobstructed view of the brewing process. The new facility is expected to double brewing production and add six brewing company staff.
“By relocating the production of Quaff ON!, we look forward to providing additional access to consumers and ultimately visitors at Hard Truth Hills,” said Derek Clifford, Brewery General Manager for Quaff ON! Brewing Co. “Hard Truth Hill’s visitors will be able to sit outside enjoying an ice-cold Quaff ON! beer while watching the Brew Crew in action. The customer will have an excellent view of the cellar which is where you will find the fermenters and brite tanks. These tanks are planned to be larger than our current vessels providing Quaff ON! the space needed to expand production across state borders.”
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As a company, BWQOHT Inc. is mindful of their environmental footprint and how production waste is disposed. The new Quaff ON! Brewing will include a spent grain system, which makes it easier for the local farmers they partner with to receive the used grains. In addition, the system allows for cleaner and more efficient operations for the environment.
Currently, Quaff ON! beers and Hard Truth Distilling Co. spirits are distributed at more than 2,000 locations throughout Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky as well as all Big Woods restaurant locations. The core products for Quaff ON! include: Busted Knuckle, Six Foot Blonde, Six Foot Strawberry Blonde and Peanut Butter Busted Knuckle.
Construction for the new Quaff ON! Brewing is expected to begin spring 2021 with production and tours starting fall 2021.
Learn more about Hard Truth Distilling Co.
View all Indiana Distilleries.
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