DENVER — The year that Blackstone Brewing Co. opened, in 1994, the Nashville craft brewery missed the cutoff to attend the Great American Beer Festival.
Since then, Blackstone has come every year there’s been a GABF — COVID years notwithstanding — and picked up more than a dozen medals along the way.
Brewery co-founder Kent Taylor is in Denver for GABF again in 2025, serving Blackstone classics such as the St. Charles Porter and Nut Brown Ale.
This year, Blackstone and Memphis’ Soul & Spirits Brewery are the only Tennessee craft breweries in attendance.
For Taylor, coming to GABF is about showing support for the industry he’s been a part of for decades now.
“We’ve won plenty of medals, so it’s not like that matters. We just want to try to make good beer and support the Brewers Association,” Taylor told Memphis Beer Blog.
Thirty years after first missing the cutoff, Taylor’s brewery has become one of GABF’s most dependable presences — returning again with a mix of familiar styles and fan favorites.
Here’s what Blackstone is pouring at GABF in Denver:
Chaser, 5.2%
A gold medal winner at both the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup, Chaser is a German-style Kölsch based on one of Taylor’s homebrew recipes.
It’s a crisp, bright-yellow hued beer with prominent hoppiness. “The style hails from Cologne, Germany,” Taylor added.
Nut Brown Ale, 5.6%
Developed by brewmaster emeritus and homebrew author Dave Miller, this English-style brown ale dates back to Miller’s brewing days at Schlafly in St. Louis and earned the first of its three silver GABF medals in 1997.
Pumpkin Ale, 5.1%
Blackstone’s seasonal Pumpkin Ale took home GABF gold two years ago and is made with real pumpkin puree, along with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
Taylor said the key is balance: “When you think about pumpkin pie, if it weren’t for the sugar and the spices, it would be awful. So that’s what we focus on — blending the spices correctly.”
St. Charles Porter, 5.8%
St. Charles Porter has won eight medals at GABF — more than any other brown porter in the country. The beer is named after Taylor’s son, Charles.
“It’s an excellent, excellent beer,” Taylor said. “Arguably the best brown porter in the country.”
TropJack IPA, 6.7%
A newer twist on Blackstone’s HopJack IPA, TropJack features Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe and Citra hops. Brewmaster Chase Wilkerson also added Hopsteiner’s Salvo hop extract to the mix a couple of years ago.
“I think it went from a good beer to a really good beer,” Taylor said. “For a hoppy beer, I think it’s just a stellar beer.”
Blackstone can be found at Booth 9 in the “Score” section of GABF. In addition, Blackstone’s historic Nashville Brewing Co. brand is pouring in the “Prost” area at Booth 38.
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