Cedar Glade Brews: Quality, Delicious Beers

DeliveryRank chats with Jonathan Harmon, co-founder of Cedar Glade Brews, a passionate advocate for community and craft beer in Middle Tennessee. A key figure in the brewery's formation, Jonathan brought his vision and love for locally crafted beer to the partnership that launched Cedar Glade Brews in 2019. Under his leadership, the brewery continues to thrive as a hub for exceptional beer and meaningful community connection, embodying the unique character and complexity of its namesake, the Cedar Glades of Middle Tennessee.

Cedar Glade Brews was established by four local beer enthusiasts with a mission to produce high-quality craft beer that honors the traditions, land, and culture of Middle Tennessee. Could you share more about the inspiration behind starting the brewery and how your personal backgrounds influenced this venture?

One of my main partners, Jerremy Weaver, came up with the name several years ago when he was a homebrewer. Jerremy lives in a rural corner of this county, and cedar glades, as a landform, are quite unique to Middle Tennessee. These glades can be found primarily in Rutherford County, Wilson County, and a few neighboring areas. They're a fascinating habitat characterized by exposed limestone that resembles the surface of the moon. Essentially, they form a kind of natural desert. In the summer, temperatures can soar to 140°F with the heat radiating off the rocks.

This extreme environment has given rise to a unique ecosystem, with flora and even fauna that exist nowhere else. At first glance, the landscape might seem barren and unappealing, but as you look closer, you start to notice the delicate beauty of small plants and other life emerging from the cracks in the rocks. It's truly remarkable. Given how distinctive these cedar glades are to our area—and how unique we felt our project was—it seemed like the perfect name.

Jerremy started as a homebrewer, and while Skip, another early partner, is no longer with the company, he was part of those early days of brewing. I, on the other hand, am something of a serial entrepreneur. At the time, my girlfriend (now my wife) became the fourth partner in the venture. She thought it was a good investment—though I suspect she might see it differently now, considering just how much work is involved! But despite the challenges, it’s been a lot of fun and an incredibly rewarding journey.

Your brewery emphasizes creating traditional beer recipes with accuracy and quality in every sip. How do you balance maintaining traditional brewing methods while also innovating to create unique flavors that appeal to modern craft beer enthusiasts?

The number one thing we aim for is to brew beer that stays true to its style—clean, accurate, and exactly the way it’s meant to be. Take our flagship lager, Little Creek Lager, for example. It’s just a lager, but it’s incredibly clean, crisp, and highly drinkable. It takes us over two months to make that lager. Sure, we could cut corners—we could fast-lager it, use Kveik yeast, or try other shortcuts to speed up the process—but we refuse to compromise on quality.

We always start with the fundamentals. For example, when brewing a pale ale, we begin with a proper, traditional pale ale recipe. Only after perfecting that base do we explore creative additions, like our coffee pale ale. For that, we partnered with a local coffee roaster who not only roasts his own beans but also travels to the source to learn the roasting methods, temperatures, and techniques specific to each region. His dark roast coffee is meticulously crafted to be authentic and precise. When we combine that coffee with our beer, it creates something truly unique and innovative. But none of that would work without starting with a solid, accurate foundation.

You aim to reflect the culture of Middle Tennessee in your craft beers. Can you provide examples of how local traditions or regional ingredients have influenced specific brews, and how the community has responded to these offerings?

The first thing we did when starting out was evaluate what people in our area enjoy and figure out if we could incorporate any local ingredients. Middle Tennessee isn’t ideal for growing hops, and it’s not exactly a grain belt, so we do our best to source those ingredients as close to home as possible. We also work with local distributors who prioritize sourcing regionally. For example, one of our grain distributors makes an effort to source from nearby hubs whenever possible.

That said, one of my favorite beers we’ve created, Native Creatures, is a great example of using what’s available locally. For that beer, we harvested wild yeast from our area. We pulled yeast off a honeysuckle vine and even set up a moonshine-style cherry on a rock to propagate yeast. Then, we blended those strains together, which resulted in a truly unique and wonderful beer. It ages beautifully and has become one of my personal favorites.

Beyond the beer itself, we’ve always been focused on the people around us. We try to understand the preferences of our local community—not just because it’s a smart business decision but because we genuinely want to connect with the population we serve. And that brings us to the heart of our mission: creating a community gathering space. Even if someone doesn’t drink beer, we want them to feel welcome here.

For instance, we’ve stocked our massive can cooler with over 100 different options, including hard sodas, seltzers, ciders, meads, mushroom drinks, CBD ciders, and even non-alcoholic craft sodas. There’s truly something for everyone, whether they’re looking for a beer alternative or don’t drink alcohol at all.

Our 110-member Mug Club is a testament to the community vibe we’ve built. They’re incredibly active, always bringing in new folks. We also host events like board game nights on Thursdays, where you’ll see 40 to 50 people playing games—sometimes only a handful of them are drinking beer! And we’re fine with that. It’s about providing a space where people can hang out, connect, and have a good time.

While we don’t have a license for wine and spirits (which may sound strange, I know), that hasn’t stopped us from creating a welcoming, vibrant space for everyone. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of living up to our goal of being a true community hub.

Since opening your doors in 2021, what significant challenges have you encountered in the craft beer industry, and how have you addressed them to establish Cedar Glade Brews as a notable brewery in Murfreesboro?

The biggest challenge for us, honestly, has been the overall decline in beer consumption. This isn’t unique to us—it’s something that even the big players in the industry are grappling with. Alcohol consumption in general has gone down, but beer consumption has taken an especially significant hit. The rise of alternatives like THC and CBD drinks, seltzers, and other options has really shifted the market.

In response, we’ve been working on diversifying our offerings. For instance, we’re developing a seltzer, but we want to get it absolutely right before we release it. We’ve had a few attempts that were frankly terrible, and we would never put out a product that doesn’t meet our standards. We’ve also looked into incorporating CBD and similar products, but that comes with additional licensing requirements that we don’t currently have. For now, though, we make sure our can cooler is well-stocked with a wide variety of options, including those kinds of drinks, to give people as many choices as possible when they visit.

Ultimately, our focus remains on being a community gathering space, whether or not someone comes in to drink. If people bring friends who enjoy beer or other beverages, that’s great, but the real goal is to create a welcoming space that draws people through our doors.

With a state-of-the-art brewing facility and a growing presence in the local craft beer scene, what are your future plans for Cedar Glade Brews? Are there any upcoming projects or expansions that enthusiasts should look forward to?

Our current plans focus on several key areas as we continue to grow and refine our operations.

First, we are expanding our local distribution efforts, supplying beer to restaurants, liquor stores, and other outlets. To ensure this growth doesn’t disrupt our taproom experience, we’re working to stabilize our production schedules. In the past, we’ve occasionally run out of certain beers in the taproom due to external demand, so perfecting that balance is a priority. It’s a rhythm we’re committed to getting right.

Second, we’re exploring ways to introduce food options in our taproom. While we don’t have a commercial kitchen, we understand the value of offering food to complement our beer. Historically, we’ve relied on food trucks, but their reliability has been inconsistent since they’re external businesses. To provide a more dependable experience for our guests, we’re considering bringing food service in-house.

Last year, we hosted an incredible event as part of one of two major international folk festivals in the U.S. The festival organizers chose our space for their capstone event, bringing several hundred attendees to our parking lot. Folk dance troupes and musical groups from Mexico, the Czech Republic, and the UK performed, creating an unforgettable evening of music, dance, and cultural celebration. This June, we’ll host the event again, welcoming performers from Poland, Argentina, and another country yet to be announced. As a special touch, we’ll brew beers inspired by each of these nations, much like we did last year.

In the taproom, we’re always enhancing the experience for our guests. Whether it’s adding a plant shelf or upgrading equipment, we strive to make the space more welcoming. One exciting initiative is our effort to crowdfund the addition of 10 new taps, including a Nitro tap, which would bring us to a total of 22. To support this, we’ve been selling concrete blocks—or “bricks”—for $100 each. Guests can decorate these bricks, making them part of the taproom’s character. So far, we’ve sold about 20, and it’s been a wonderful way for our community to feel connected to Cedar Glade.

I often tell our Mug Club members and regulars, “This is your place—we just happen to run it.” Initiatives like the brick project and hosting community events reflect this philosophy. We’re excited to continue building a space that feels like home for everyone who walks through our doors.

If you would like to find out more about Cedar Glade Brews, please visit https://www.cedargladebrews.com/