Exclusive: Nashville's Jackalope Brewing Co. posts strong growth numbers

By the numbers: According to new Nielsen retail data provided by the brewery, Jackalope beer sales grew 17.1% for the 26 weeks ending on Aug. 8.

• Its volume sales increased by 11.5%.
• By comparison, Nashville's overall craft beer and cider market declined by 1.5% in dollars and 3.8% in volume.

Catch up quick: Jackalope launched in 2011. Steve Barone, an entrepreneur who owns a hospitality company called Pikeld Concepts with several bars under its umbrella, bought the brewery in 2024.

• Jackalope acquired fellow independent brewery Black Abbey earlier this year.

What he's saying: "Nashville is home. The plan has always been to get really good at what we do in one market — the beer, the people, the operating model, all of it — and then take that across Tennessee and eventually into neighboring states," Barone said in a statement. "This data tells us the first part is working."

Zoom out: Nashville, like other beer markets, saw a string of mergers and acquisitions in recent years. Knoxville-based Xul acquired Southern Grist.

• Memphis's Wiseacre joined forces with Bearded Iris.

The intrigue: The company says focusing on two popular styles among craft beer fans fueled the success.

• "We weren't participating in light lagers and IPAs — we were really just dipping our toes in the market — but now we are," Steve Wright, Jackalope's chief revenue officer, tells Axios.

If you go: Jackalope is located at 429B Houston Street in the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood.