Mertie - Nashville Brewing

The Nashville Brewery changed hands several times since it first opened in 1859. This artists sketch appears as the only reference to Nashville brewing in the historical brewing reference book One Hundred Years of Brewing . The Nashville Brewery started as a small brewery built by Jacob Stifel located on the corner of Mulberry and South High Streets. It changed hands several times over the next 30 years until finally becoming the William Gerst Brewing Company in 1893. Other early Nashville breweries included McMormack and Company, E. Ottenville, W. Beaty, Crossman and Drucker, City Brewery, and the Union Brewery. (From the collection of Scott R. Mertie.)

Malachi McCormack starting brewing in Nashville in 1859 but moved to Louisville once the Civil War started in 1861. After the war, he moved back to Nashville and was operating the M. McCormack and Company brewery by 1871 at 105 Cherry Street. In 1872, McCormack had partnered with Eugene Ottenville, where they bottled under the name E. O. McCormack. The clear bottle shown on the left is from the M. McCormack and Company brewery, and the amber bottle is from E. O. McCormack. (From the collection of Terry Williams.)

Several years later, in 1875, Ottenville opened his own brewery where he operated under his own name until it closed in the mid-1880s. McCormack brought on another partner named McKee and brewed as McCormack and McKee for only one year. The bottle pictured on the left is from McCormack and McKee, while the two bottles on the right are from Ottenville. (From the collection of Terry Williams.)

Adam Diehl and George Lord formed a company in 1868 to distribute kegged and bottled beer from various midwestern breweries and water from Tennessee springs. In 1884, Diehl and Lord built this modern, three-story brick building on the corner of Front and Church Streets, where the Beer Sellar bar is located today. Such brands transported from the North include Lemps and Budweiser from St. Louis, Schlitz from Milwaukee, Lion from Cincinnati, and Cooks from Evansville. (From the collection of the Nashville Room, Tennessee Public Library.)

In addition to beer, Diehl and Lord also bottled cider and sparkling water, among other beverages. This postcard, postmarked October 29, 1883, boasts that its the Souths largest refiner of cider and steam bottlers for export lager beer. During this time, Diehl and Lord employed 50 people at the facility and other salesmen throughout the South. (From the collection of Walter Diehl.)

Early Diehl and Lord bottles included such varieties as blob-top sodas and Hutchinsons, as well as crock, blob top, and squat ale bottles. Many of these bottles are found throughout Nashville during demolitions and new construction digs. (From the collection of Terry Williams.)

The bottling area inside of the Diehl and Lord facility shows a huge production facility that was 100 feet by 120 feet. George Lord moved to Memphis to manage their other facility in 1878 and later retired in 1889. Adam Diehl continued to operate the company at several Nashville locations until he died in 1925. The business continued to operate until 1928, when it permanently closed, never seeing the end of Prohibition. (From the collection of the Nashville Room, Tennessee Public Library.)

James E. Hays was the sole proprietor for a beer distributing company located on the corner of Market and Gay Streets. This company was originally formed by E. Ottenville in 1875 and later became the Nashville Beer and Bottling Company before it was purchased by Hays in the 1890s. By the early 1900s, the Hays facility employed six wagons to distribute beer and was able to hold cold storage for 10 rail cars full of beer barrels. (From the collection of the Nashville Room, Tennessee Public Library.)