Why the name, Urban Consequence?

Our founder, Jeff, used to dislike beer (GASP!). Then he discovered a craft beer with a taste, smell, and even texture that really appealed to him. He quickly learned to appreciate the quality and variety of craft beers.

No one remembers exactly why, but Jeff and his Dad bought a homebrewing kit in 1999 and started brewing extract beers using a gas turkey fryer and a dark corner of Dad's basement that was perfect for fermenting! This was on a small farm where Jeff grew up. After Dad died, on a trip that included bringing the family's homebrew equipment to Memphis (where Jeff then lived--and still does), he and his wife happened to find an electric, all-grain brewing system on sale and that became the centerpiece of Jeff's brewing system in Memphis. A few years later, they upgraded from glass carboys to temperature-controlled conical fermentation tanks. This all led to a variety of factors and a sequence of events that ultimately led to opening a brewery and taproom.

Thus, the events that led to the brewery and taproom followed the move of the homebrew operations from the farm (and Jeff) to the city. Hence, it could be considered an Urban Consequence.

There are many theories about the role of beer in civilization and urbanization. Some argue that humans settled down from hunting and gathering to cultivate the ingredients for beer. Beer has long been used to pay workers, including during the construction of the great pyramids in Egypt. In many cultures, beer was/is a major source of nutrition. Breweries have been major forces in driving urban infrastructures, such as the water distribution systems in London (see more on that here). The influence of beer in social and political exchanges is quite noteworthy. During the Middle Ages, for example, it is said that German laws were made under the influence, then checked in sobriety. Click on the quote in the upper right to learn much more about the history of beer.

Thus, many have argued that the creation and development of cities have been heavily influenced by beer and brewing. Hence, there was an Urban Consequence of beer production and (of course) consumption.

Let's be honest. Urbanization has wreaked some havoc. It has produced concentrated amounts of various toxins produced by machines, excess waste from all kinds of sources (biological and otherwise), vast use of natural resources that are transported--sometimes over great distances, and the list goes on. Physically and psychologically, city life typically exposes us to many stressors.

Brewing is an industrial enterprise, but many breweries are leaders in many types of sustainability. Brewers depend heavily on quality agricultural products and we recognize that the health of the environment is critical to the health and existence of the industry. At Urban Consequence, we make an effort to conserve, including working with the community to put our spent grains (what's left after we extract sugars for brewing) to additional uses, reusing water to reduce how much we ultimately use, taking steps to reduce the electricity needed during the brewing and cleaning process, working with environmentally-friendly suppliers, and trying to reduce waste in our packaging decisions.

Ultimately, we want to be responsible stewards of the environment and good neighbors to our fellow individuals and businesses. Thus, our name keeps us mindful of negative urban consequences as we try to do better moving forward. We also recognize the social value of what we do: Bringing people together to share and be together.