We recently connected with James Miller and have shared our conversation below.

James, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Any time you decide to venture out, pursue a dream, and start your own business, you are taking a huge risk. There are so many variables, so many obstacles, and so many rough times, that it can become very discouraging. I took a major risk by putting absolutely everything I had both financially and physically into the pursuit of owning and operating my own small brewery. I ran down a dream and committed 100% to it. I accepted the risk through dedication. I continue to risk so much, and have lost so much in my pursuit, yet my dedication has not faltered. I have failed in personal relationships, made so many sacrifices, and have paid a high cost by making that jump, taking that risk in building my business from the ground up. It’s never going to be easy. Anyone that says it is, is a bold faced liar. You have to have an absolute, unwavering dedication to your craft in order to succeed when taking that risk. Nothing in life is without risk, so why hold back on taking them.

James, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I always wanted to be a chef, but I also new that the money simply wasn’t there for me to pursue culinary school. I also did not want to work my way up from dishwasher to possibly a sous chef after many many years. So I gave up on that dream at an early age, however, the passion for playing with flavor profiles stuck with me. I then found brewing and was given the opportunity to learn at a commercial craft brewery in San Diego California. It all clicked. I could pursue a passion in food, but with beer. I began to develop my own recipes and technique and it did not take long to fall head over heals in love with brewing. In 2013 I decided I would dedicate the rest of my life to the craft and open my own brewery where I could decide on what brews, ingredients, and styles I would produce. In 2015 I put that dream in motion, and in 2019 I opened Evill Nash Brewing Co. in Clarksville Tennessee. I now offer a lot of experimental beers, seltzers, and hard teas. I don’t necessarily follow tradition or guidelines, I am a craftsman so I craft beers that I think are different from the norm, and I think that sets me apart from many other in my industry. It is also one of the things I am most proud of. I know what I produce is not for everyone, but for those that appreciate it, and that is why I do it. For the sake of business, I could follow trends and be like everyone else, but for my own sanity sake, I do what I love to do, and that is simply to do me and I believe there are many people that truly see me through my brews. One thing I would like everyone to know about me and my brand is that everything is with intent. I do not want to be any other brewery, I want to be Evill Nash, I want to be the odd kid in the corner, the loner, the rebel. I want people to come to my place with an open mind and zero expectations. We can all be too quick to jump to a conclusion without giving a proper chance to see what lies beneath the surface. I don’t have a huge budget, but I am very resourceful, so I don’t have the million dollar facility, but I have a place that has become a second home to many. I suppose to sum it all up, what I want people to know about me and my business is that, like you, I am just a person (that happens to own a small independent brewery) and certainly not without my flaws. Like my beer, I am an acquired taste and I know all too well everyone’s pallets are different. That is what makes us all unique. Be Unique!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

That’s a great question. A lesson that I had to unlearn recently is to stay weird. What I mean by that is to never lose sight of yourself. I have always been a weirdo in my brewing and like to use ingredients that become available to me, but are not typically found in most other beers. A couple of years ago I tried to “fall in line” and get back to basics with some of my staple beers. The feedback was ok, but not great. Shortly there after I began to hear more and more about the “weird” beers and how great they were or how much people loved them. I got asked many times when certain ones would come back. At the time, I wasn’t sure if I ever would brew them again as I was attempting to normalize my products. At that time, I also began to lose some of the passion, it was more like work than what I loved to do. So one day I woke up, and got right back to where it all started, just doing what I do and accepting the take it or leave it aspect associated with the beers I produce. Low and behold, the passion started to come back and I haven’t looked back. So ultimately, I learned to be normal, then had to unlearn that and embrace the weird.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

For me, it is very difficult to separate my business from personal life. Therefore, many of my customers have become like family. We are a second family. You don’t drink at Evill Nash. You audition for friendship. I keep in touch like I do any of my friends or family, via direct contact and conversations. I suppose through that I have fostered a bit of brand loyalty. My philosophy is to get out there and try them all. I will be around when you feel like coming back. That being said, I also rely heavily on guerrilla marketing, word of mouth, and social media to keep my customers informed on the goings on here at Evill Nash. I wanted organic growth, and knew from the beginning it would take me some time to build enough of an audience to where I get more widely known. I don’t do the constant contact or newsletters. For now, I am the quiet kid in the corner biding his time until it becomes my time to shine.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: evillnashbrew
• Facebook: evillnashbrew

Image Credits

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