Xul to host PB&J Mixtape release party in The Nations
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A PB&J Mixtape beer from Xul. Photo: Nate Rau/Axios
It's been a gritty stretch for Nashville's craft brewery scene.
- Beloved breweries have consolidated, sold to out-of-towners or just plain closed.
Yes, but: Against the backdrop of declining craft beer sales, Xul, a newcomer to Nashville's beer brood, delivered a product so beloved that people stand in impossibly long lines in order to buy a case.
- Xul's PB&J Mixtape is a gluten-free sour that mimics the comforting taste of your favorite childhood lunch, but with a crisp and refreshing finish and a rather pleasant buzz.
Why it matters: Xul, the Knoxville-based brewery that purchased local Southern Grist last year, is hosting a PB&J Mixtape release party Friday.
Driving the news: If Mixtape release parties in Knoxville are any indication, the event figures to attract hundreds, maybe thousands, of people.
- At its annual Mixtape release last month, Xul sold about 3,500 cases to a crowd that swelled to about 5,000, according to one report.
- A video posted to Xul's Instagram page shows the throngs of fans waiting patiently for their fix.
The intrigue: You've probably never had a beer like the PB&J Mixtape. The company is coy about its brewing process, but told the DC Beer outlet last year that it does use real roasted peanuts in the process.
- You can already get the beer on draft at both Southern Grist locations.
If you go: The release event will take place at the Southern Grist tasting room in The Nations, starting at 5pm.
- The OG Mixtape is grape-flavored, but there will be six varieties for sale by the case at today's release party: blueberry, grape, blackberry, raspberry, cherry and banana.
Nate's thought bubble: As a meat-and-potatoes beer drinker who prefers lagers and IPAs, I was skeptical of the PB&J Mixtape. Generally speaking, I'd rather drink water than a seltzer.
- Still, I wanted to see what the fuss was about, so I snuck over for one during my son's swim practice a few weeks ago and left fascinated.
- I subsequently took two non-beer drinkers to the tasting room to get their opinions. One (my wife Alison) loved it and the other (newsletter reporter Adam Tamburin) thought it was one of the rare flavored beers that actually tasted exactly as it was described.
- Let's put it this way: If time allows, I'll be slugging it out in the beer line this afternoon.
The bottom line: The news of Southern Grist's sale to Xul was met with some skepticism, but this peanut-butter-and-jelly jolt of enthusiasm to the local beer scene is a welcome sight.