Blackstone Brewing Company - HopJack IPA

This IPA from Blackstone pours a beautiful bright amber with good clarity and plenty of long-lasting foam which laces nicely as it slowly recedes. On the nose, look for perfumed floral notes, bright citrus zest, secondary notes of tropical fruits, and touches of grass and pine-like herbal tones. We love when the promise of juicy hops from the aroma pays off in the flavor, too, and HopJack delivers. Citrusy hops come through boldly as an amalgam of grapefruit, orange, and lemon. The malt core here offers a sturdy stage for the full expression of the American hops while delivering a bit of residual sweetness to balance the firm hop bitterness and acidity, which lingers on the palate with a zesty citrus impression. This medium-bodied IPA will complement citrus-infused or spicy dishes, with a pepperoni & spicy sausage pizza towards the top of our list. Cheers!

The history of Blackstone Brewing Company begins in 1994 with the opening of Blackstone Restaurant & Brewery on West End Avenue in Nashville, TN. Co-founders Kent Taylor and Stephanie Weins made an excellent, complementary team, with Stephanie managing the restaurant part of the business and Kent handling the brewing operations. Back in 1994, the craft beer renaissance was still in its opening stages, and visitors to the restaurant sometimes walked out when they realized there was no Bud Light on tap. But times change, and ultimately the restaurant became a fixture in the area, serving good food and good beer to Nashville residents and visitors for over two decades.

In 2011, Blackstone made the jump from brewpub to production brewery with the opening of their 15,000 sq. ft. brewhouse on Clifton Avenue. Featuring a German-designed 30-barrel brewing system and a bottling line, Blackstone Brewing Company's new facility gave them the ability to produce beer for retail sale throughout the region. Sadly, Stephanie passed away in 2014, and with restaurant management admittedly not his strong suit, Kent made the decision to close the original restaurant and focus all his attention on the new brewing company and its Taproom. In addition to great beer, visitors to the Taproom can enjoy good food from the "B-Stone Bus," a 1989 Ford school bus converted into a food bus (who needs a food truck when you can have a food bus!). For more info about Blackstone, visit them at blackstonebeer.com.