Calfkiller Brewing Company

Calfkiller Brewing Company was founded by brothers Dave and Don Sergio in 2012 on a rural stretch of McMinnville Highway outside Sparta. Named for the river that runs through White County, Calfkiller has grown from a small-batch operation into one of Tennessee's most respected craft breweries - earning state and national recognition for beers that range from clean, approachable lagers to complex barrel-aged offerings.

The taproom has the honest character of a working brewery - this is not a polished hospitality experience built to look like a brewery, it's an actual brewery that happens to be open to the public. The brewery floor is visible, the fermenters are real, and the staff know the beer they're pouring because they or their colleagues made it. For serious craft beer drinkers, that authenticity is part of the appeal.

The rotating tap list typically includes their flagship ales alongside seasonal releases and small-batch experiments. Calfkiller's Double Dub Wheat and 1516 Smoked Porter have developed strong regional followings. The brewery does not serve food, so plan accordingly - but Sparta has a handful of restaurants within a short drive if you want to make a half-day of it.

For Upper Cumberland residents, Calfkiller has been a point of local pride since it started winning awards and getting written up in national beer publications. The fact that one of Tennessee's best breweries is on a rural highway outside Sparta rather than in Nashville or Knoxville says something both about the Sergio brothers' commitment to their home and about the Upper Cumberland's underappreciated creative culture.