Consider the iris, Tennessee’s state cultivated flower, for a moment. It’s a fascinating flower that has thousands of variations. New types are made all the time by cultivating growth and then grafting them together. The bearded iris, as the name suggests, has a full downward-turned petal drooping from the rest of the flower, suggesting a growth of facial hair.
When the trio of Paul Vaughn, Kavon Togrye, and Matt Miller started knocking around the idea of opening a brewery in the Music City, the idea of the flower species made sense.
“For us, it was an interesting concept to hybridize beer styles and cultures, to try putting different things together for a positive result,” says Miller. “And with all the different iris varieties out there, it’s also a helpful tool for naming beers.”