For TailGate Brewery, Tennessee’s fiercely independent brewery, 2025 was a year of sustainable, foundational growth. WIth nine locations across Tennessee and more than 250 team members, the brewery invested in brand growth, doubled its production capacity, and refreshed its core lineup offered at retail across the state.
Founded and independently owned by Wesley Keegan, TailGate Brewery operates without partners, investors, or equity boards. The brewery has opened 5 locations in Tennessee since 2020 and invested in doubling capacity at its Nashville headquarters this year, onlining new equipment like a second centrifuge and quality tools to improve its growing lineup of brewery-fresh beer, sweet tea, coffee, cider, and THC.
At the close of 2025, all of TailGate’s core beers, including TailGate Orange, Wizards Order IPA and Lager Projekt, are experiencing strong growth. Hot off a gold medal win at the U.S. Open Beer Championship in 2025, TailGate Orange (5% ABV) continues to be the brewery’s top-selling beer for 5 years running.
Wizard’s Order IPA (6% ABV) recently joined the year-round core lineup, after 2.5 years spent in research and development. Originally released as a rotating series, Wizard’s Order IPA was dialed in based on consumer feedback, resulting in a juicy, pleasantly bitter, and broad-appeal IPA that has joined the brewery’s all-star team of year-round beers.
In August, TailGate Brewery expanded Tennessee’s most authentic lager experience with the state-wide release of Lager Projekt (4.8% ABV). Similar to Wizard’s Order IPA, Lager Projekt started as a rotating series way back in 2020. This Munich-style Helles was the unquestioned best of the program. Poured Czech-style from a side-pour handle, TailGate invested in its roll-out at retail, providing custom glassware, traditional side-pour draft handles to select retailers, and brewery-led training to every bar and restaurant pouring Lager Projekt. The brewery is launching a Lager Project Certification Program for accounts committed to the best poured experience, and a certification for the beer pourers meeting the Certification standards too! With Lager Projekt, TailGate is committing to crafting a perfect lager experience from brewhaus to glass.
“We are always investing in R&D. We brew a lot of different beers, more than 300 each year! But we do a lot of things with intent…most of the time,” quipped Keegan. “Wizards Order IPA and Lager Projekt both started as a rotating series. We’ve taken the best elements of each and released two year-round brews that adopt the name of the series and culminate the best of the program. Neither are the most profitable for us, but we feel the market still wants the best.”
While TailGate Brewery is known for exceptional beer, the team has crafted a diverse lineup of non-beer beverages, ensuring there is something for everyone who walks into a taproom or shops at the cooler.
The brewery’s inclusive, always-diversifying lineup includes: TailGate Cider (5% ABV), a fan favorite in the taprooms and at retail that grew 20% year-over-year in 2025; a new-for-2025 lineup of canned Coolship Cold Brew coffee and an expansive on-site coffee menu; Nashville Sweet Tea Co., including TailGate’s small batch, craft sweet tea made from Keegan’s own three-generation old family recipe, and lemonade that is up 212% at retail after launching new points of distribution at chain retailers in 2025; and TailGate Hemp Company, which offers two buzzy flavors of sparkling THC seltzers, and is experimenting with varying THC and CBD levels as state and federal laws change.
“TailGate Brewery is a place that anyone can roll up to and have an exceptional experience. Between our team, a stellar menu of the best beer, coffee, THC, and made-from-scratch pizza, everyone in any group will find something that excites them,” said Keegan.
TailGate has earned a shining reputation as a destination for pizza lovers, complete with an inventive made-from-scratch pizza menu, a popular Detroit-style pie, and rotating Pizza of the Month.
As the brewery grows, it continues to prioritize the well-being of almost 300 team members in Tennessee, offering 100% paid healthcare to 100% of team members and other industry-leading benefits. “Investing in our team is the number one way to thrive as a business,” said Keegan. “We don’t buy billboards on the side of the freeway. Our preferred method of team growth is growth from within, and that means taking care of our team.”
While industry headlines for craft beer highlight headwinds in the market and costs for materials and ingredients have increased, including a 30% increase in can prices in the last quarter of 2025, TailGate brewery continues to grow through investments in its team, a diverse beverage lineup, and its built-for-everyone taproom experiences.
Along with an emphasis on core beers and a dedication to innovation, TailGate looks ahead to 2026 with a continued focus on internal growth, product development and opportunistic in-market growth. Visit tailgatebeer.com or follow @tailgatebrewery on social media to stay updated as to what’s on tap, upcoming events and more.
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