NASHVILLE — Instead of dumping beverages to protest what they consider an unfair tax, two Middle Tennessee microbreweries have created one.

Their “oppressively refreshing” protest beer, dubbed The Beacon: A Tennessee High Tax Ale, will make its debut next week — just as state lawmakers consider bills to change how the state calculates its highest-in-the-nation beer tax.

The craft beer’s creators, Yazoo Brewing Co. of Nashville and Calfkiller Brewing Co. of Sparta, Tenn., say there’s a serious message behind the tongue-in-cheek name.