At a time when much of the beer and beverage industry is either recalibrating or faltering, TailGate Brewery stands out.
The independent Tennessee brewery just celebrated a year of continued growth, including doubling its brewing capacity. The brewery, which just celebrated its 11th anniversary, has a distribution network across the state, eight independent taprooms and an airport outpost, and employs 250 people with 100% healthcare coverage.
Wesley Keegan is the founder of TailGate Brewery.
Tailgate Brewery
Wesley Keegan is the sole owner of this brewing success story. “I grew up on welfare and food stamps, so I’m a naturally frugal person,” Keegan said in a phone interview.
“We really emphasize good business (practices), making great products and listening to what our customers want,” he said. “My degree is in finance and we have to pay the bills.”
Keegan noted that this is a difficult time for many craft brewers. According to the Brewers Association, 2024 will be the first year since 2005 that the number of breweries closing nationwide exceeds the number of new breweries opening. The association noted that the number of craft breweries operating in June 2025 was 9,269, down 1% from the number of craft breweries operating in June 2024, which was 9,352.
This is in stark contrast to TailGate, which has opened five new stores since 2022. “The short answer is ‘How do we grow when everyone else is talking about closing?’ We’re running a great business and treating it like a business,” Keegan said. “
Keegan said part of the reason some breweries get into trouble is that they may be too focused on product without considering the business side of their operations. “Craft beer is saying, ‘We’re special, we have to operate differently,'” Keegan noted. “Before starting TailGate, I read every business book I could get my hands on, except for beer books. Even if you make a good quality liquid, it doesn’t matter – you still have to pay for the stuff.”
He said great brewers are sometimes easily persuaded to buy additional equipment without the right financing plan, such as buying a bigger tank to produce more beer but no plan to sell it. “Most people who start breweries are homebrewers and their personality type is more behind the scenes,” Keegan said. “But to run a brewery, you have to talk to people and interact with the sales team. It’s a very public-facing component.”
Keegan said he knew from the start when he opened in 2014 that customer-centricity was the way to go, and social media was becoming increasingly important for understanding their needs.
“Tennessee is very opposed to beer production, ostensibly we have the worst excise taxes and pay the highest excise taxes per barrel,” he said. To succeed, he knew he had to study best practices from around the country and see if they would work in his hometown.
One thing that hasn’t been accomplished is opening the bar seven days a week. “We’re the only ones doing this,” he said. “We also post our hours online and then stay open during those hours. Some (other breweries) will post their hours, but when you go, no one is there.”
“Early on, we learned that a bar is like an Apple store—people go there to try your product, but they might buy it elsewhere,” he said. “We’re not competing with local restaurants or bars. They’re helping us teach people why they should buy our beer.”
Another distinguishing feature of TailGate bars is that they allow children in the bar. “Just because people have kids doesn’t mean they stop drinking beer,” Keegan said. “It’s a polarizing topic but it’s important to us that people feel welcome and allowed to do normal, human things like bring their children along.”
These practices have allowed TailGate to expand, but even though the brewery now has nine different locations, they’re not just expanding for expansion’s sake. “Last year was
Tailgate also began diversifying into non-alcoholic products such as sweet tea, and then they developed “Lager Projekt.” Lager Projekt is a premium Helles beer, but in addition to developing this premium beer, they also developed a special side pull tap, as well as special glassware for the beer. Restaurants and bars “also have the opportunity to get certified with an approved Lager Projekt account, and[it shows]these people care about craft beer,” he said.
Projects and products like Lager Projekt will continue to drive TailGate’s growth, but the focus remains on treating their beer like a good business and focusing on their hometown. “We haven’t reached saturation yet,” he said. “We won’t consider other states until we reach saturation. We want people to discover that TailGate is as ubiquitous in Tennessee as Spotted Cow is in Wisconsin. We want to be a brewery that consumers are proud to support.”