For someone who didn’t even drink until I was in my 30’s, friends from my younger years might still be surprised to find me writing about a love for craft beer. 🙂 And although I have a somewhat particular palate for particular types of brews, I nonetheless have developed an appreciation for the cold beverages that are “Created. Not made.”, to borrow The Black Abbey Brewing Company’s motto.
While farmers’ markets, CSAs and some area restaurants offer options to eat local, a growing number of Nashville breweries provide multiple options to drink local. According to ediblenashville.com * (an excellent resource for all things food and drink in Music City!), there were 50 breweries in the U.S. in 1984, and there were 4,000 as of 2016, with new ones opening daily. And Nashville has contributed more than 20 of its own outstanding ones to the statistical increase.
For those who enjoy the world of ales, lagers, pilsners and such, a tour of the Yazoo Brewery is a must. It’s a popular place with a packed taproom, so it’s best to buy the $8 tickets online in advance. The tours are informative, fun, and generous with samples. Most of the taprooms provide a variety of board games, darts, ping-pong, corn hole, etc., so you can linger and leisurely enjoy time with friends. Some also sell food (Tennessee Brew Works has a great Five Beer Burger, and East Nashville Brew Works and Tailgate both sell exceptional pizzas), while others let you brown bag it and bring in your food of choice. Black Abbey also has food trucks parked out front on Friday nights so you can buy dinner on the way in (The Brothers Burger food truck that rotates there some weeks is hands down the best burger I’ve had in Nashville!)
And for those who love music with their brews, Tennessee Brew Works is an official Nashville Live Music Venue, and has live music most nights, including a no-cover charge Bluegrass jam session on Wednesday nights; and Little Harpeth has a string band performing every Friday night. My favorite brewery musical experience so far (and personal recommendation!) was the Beer and Hymn sing at Black Abbey. Their small taproom was filled to capacity with Christmas carolers singing in unison, delightfully lending itself to an Irish pub feel. (beerhymns.com)
So here’s to discovering the beer side of our city, and to drinking locally (and responsibly :-))
*Search “Beer City” for a guide to Nashville breweries
ILoveAllYallNashville.com 