Nashville has a strong legacy of handmade beer, because to the numerous German immigrants who arrived in the region during the nineteenth century.
Nowadays, the city and its environs are home to over forty breweries. Nashville, Tennessee, had a number of setbacks in 2020, including a terrible tornado, but the local beer industry weathered both the literal and figurative storm.
In this neighborhood, which is famous for bachelor(ette) parties, there are several brewers providing IPAs or strong lagers. Visit one of these 10 taprooms or go on a brewery tour in Nashville the next time you’re in town for a really unique pint.
Contents
- 1 Nashville’s Top Ten Breweries
- 1.1 The Fat Bottom Brewing Co.
- 1.2 Bearded Iris Brewing Company
- 1.3 The Ranch at Jackalope Brewing Company
- 1.4 Tennessee Brewing Company
- 1.5 Yazoo Brewing Co.
- 1.6 The Blackstone Brewing Company
- 1.7 The Brewing Company of Black Abbey
- 1.8 TailGate Brewing Company
- 1.9 Southern Grist Brewing Corporation
- 1.10 East Nashville Brewing Company
- 2 Final Thoughts on Nashville’s Finest Brewery
Nashville’s Top Ten Breweries
The Fat Bottom Brewing Co.
+16156785715800 44th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37209, USA
Fat Bottom Brewery has rebuilt itself as a multi-modal food, drink, and entertainment complex after shifting to a bigger location in the Nations from modest beginnings in a former mattress factory in East Nashville.
Ben Bredesen, the company’s founder, started as a home brewer and built it into a regional distribution powerhouse with a canning line, taproom, and Biergarten.
The Hopyard’s beer quality has continued to improve, with trustworthy brands like Ruby Red American Ale, Knockout IPA, and Ida Golden Ale drawing audiences.
While neither the interior nor outside seating seems to be suitable for socializing, the best place to sit is at their bar. Former governor Phil Bredesen, the brewmaster’s son, is claimed to have created many pull handles for beer in the bar’s warm wood backsplash area.
Excellent bartenders are an added bonus at Fat Bottom. The wait service was kind and helpful. The meal selection was tiny yet powerful.
My acquaintance was overjoyed when he received a flight of Pappy Van Winkle whiskey. Obisidian, a dark Saison, was wonderful since I love porters and stouts.
The Chicken Mac blew my taste senses away, and it was well worth the calories for the day. I suggest paying a visit to this hidden treasure among Nashville’s breweries since both the beer and the cuisine are fantastic!
Bearded Iris Brewing Company
+16159287988101 Van Buren Street, Nashville, TN 37208, USA
East Germantown, one of Nashville’s developing districts, combines lofts and warehouses, as befits the city’s urban expansion. It is one among Nashville’s most distinctive brewers.
Bearded Iris Brewing’s original taproom, which is divided into sections, is nestled amid new and historic developments.
The brewery is on the other side, with all of its equipment accessible to guests, and the taproom is on the other side, with a typical speakeasy-style bar in its center.
The contrast does not interfere with the taproom’s ambience; rather, it complements it. Bearded Iris maintains its relaxed ambiance thanks to a terrific music and superb beer.
Bearded Iris’ menu isn’t very varied, emphasizing IPAs, DIPAs, and pale ales, but that’s good since this brewery succeeds at what it does.
Among of the menu’s highlights include the berry-infused Mood Ring beer, the pilsner Pep Talk, and the tried-and-true, oated IPA Homestyle.
You are also welcome to bring your own food to Bearded Iris, despite the absence of a kitchen. Interesting!
The Ranch at Jackalope Brewing Company
+16158734313429B Houston St., Nashville, Tennessee 37203, USA
The first brewery in the state founded by a woman has emerged as a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs.
A tasting room and manufacturing plant are located outside. Bailey Spaulding, a Houston-area brewer, has grown her firm from a modest SoBro site to a huge indoor facility. In the expanding Wedgewood
While the firm takes its product seriously, they have fun with it by calling their tasty beers after fanciful animals and characters, such as Bearwalker Maple Brown Ale, Thunder Ann American Pale Ale, and Fennario IPA.
They also provide incentive to return to Jackalope to see what’s fresh on tap by presenting inventive seasonal beers such as the fruity Lovebird and Frosty Stout.
All four of Jackalope’s year-round beers, as well as two seasonals and special releases, are on tap here in the bright, cheery area.
On a hot summer day, this charming location with a dog-friendly patio entices you to stop by, relax, and have a beer. Try Jackalope, a legendary brewpub among Nashville’s brewers.
Tennessee Brewing Company
+16154360050809 Ewing Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203, USA
Tennessee Brew Works was formed with the high but admirable objective of making good beer that pays tribute to Tennessee’s history, traditions, and culture.
Consider Tennessee Brew Works to be the brewery’s version of a farm-to-table restaurant. They are obsessively devoted to brewing beers using locally sourced and fresh seasonal ingredients, all the way down to the pictures on their labels, which were designed by a neighbor who operates a well-known letterpress shop. It’s one among Nashville’s more unusual breweries.
Tennessee Brew Works, known for its delicious brews, incorporates Tennessee grains, fruit zests, and even earthy ingredients like beets and sweet potatoes into its beers.
Their taproom cuisine uses their own beers to make a range of foods. A burger with five different Tennessee Brew Works beers in the buns and toppings is a memorable meal.
As the sun shines on the top terrace, their restaurant delivers exquisite dishes. For example, consider a platter of wasted grain falafel with red pepper hummus or Nashville’s spicy chicken. Also, live music may be heard below practically every night of the week.
The beer is likewise excellent, with a concentration on European styles and Southern American characteristics. There are IPAs on the menu, but only in small quantities.
They specialize on well-rounded farmhouse beers, brown ales, porters, ESBs, and witbiers. Among the menu’s standouts are the Belgian-style white lager, Southern wit, and India pale ale Hippies & Cowboys.
Yazoo Brewing Co.
River Bluff Dr., Madison, TN 37115, United States +16158914649900
Yazoo Brewery moved to the Gulch in 2010 after outgrowing the Marathon Motor Works facility, which opened in 2003.
When Nashville developed and the Gulch became one of the most sought-after real estate in Nashville, Yazoo cashed out and moved their larger-than-average brewery to a highly polished, behemoth of space in Madison.
Yazoo’s year-round and limited-edition beer products may be found in the brewery’s large taproom and on its outside terrace.
Embrace the Funk, the Yazoo brewery’s wild ale and barrel-aging program, is its crown jewel. If you can get your hands on one of these beers, the journey to Madison is well worth it.
Seasonal specialities, as well as tried-and-true favorites like Dos Perros, Pale Ale, Hop Perfect IPA, and Sly Rye Porter, are constantly on tap.
When you examine the wonderful sour, organically fermented, and barrel-aged goods in its legendary Embrace the Funk line, it’s easy to see why Yazoo is still at the top of the market. Without a question, one of Nashville’s must-see breweries.
The Blackstone Brewing Company
+161532090022312 Clifton Ave., Nashville, Tennessee 37209, USA
Nashville’s oldest craft brewery has received the most honours. After leaving a brewpub in West End, Blackstone has thrived in its enormous production brewery.
There is a charming taproom at Blackstone where you can try some of the exquisite beers created for Nashville Brewing Company, such as St. Charles Porter, Nut Brown Ale, and Chaser Pale, as well as historical recipes.
This brewery is cutting-edge, yet it has a long history. Scott, the owner’s partner and tour guide, took excellent care of us when we arrived early.
The tavern was rather pleasant. Beautiful beer bottle collection as well as comfortable seating! I drank my drink and examined the bottles.
We started our trip, and it was quite informative. Scott is knowledgable and entertaining to speak with. The brewery itself was clean and modern. The equipment was amazing.
We continued our talk with Scott after the tour, and he patiently answered all of our questions. They also have a great food truck, which was convenient. Before any of Nashville’s other breweries, I wholeheartedly recommend this one. You will not be disappointed.
The Brewing Company of Black Abbey
+161575500702952 Sidco Dr., Nashville, Tennessee 37204, USA
Black Abbey, which is dedicated to traditional abbey ale brewing, likes offering up history by the pint in its inviting Fellowship Hall tasting area, which has grown into a hangout for craft beer fans.
Its hallmark beer, The Rose, is a Belgian Blonde Ale that continuously puts the brewery’s massive tanks to the test in order to satisfy demand. The Special is a traditional abbey brew, a fruity and chocolatey Dubbel with a higher alcohol concentration.
If you have a couple of them, you’ll be in the mood for one of the brewery’s fun music-themed parties, when staff members play records from their own collections ranging from heavy metal to yacht rock.
Don’t miss out on Black Abbey’s changing seasonal specialties and barrel-aged variants of the brewery’s more unusual beers. Enjoy a taste of Belgium at this fantastic discovery among Nashville’s brewers.
TailGate Brewing Company
+162970259141538 Demonbreun St., Nashville, Tennessee 37203, USA
TailGate, which has locations in Bellevue, Music Row, and East Nashville, has a vast assortment of beers and really fantastic pizza, but each location focuses on something different.
The key brands produced in substantial amounts at the Bellevue headquarters are Tenn Lager, Orange Wheat, and Peanut Butter Milk Stout.
The TailGate cidery is located on Music Row and complements the beer choices with a range of artisan ciders that are drier than the sweet ciders from some large mega-breweries.
When we arrived, there were around 40 different beers and ciders to chose from, which was a great selection! Just a few examples are IPAs, Lagers, Stouts, Pale Ales, Wheat, Goses, Sours, and Ciders.
Fortunately, they provide flights, so we got sample eight different beers, including a couple pumpkin-themed ones.
They also offered an outstanding food variety with several options. We really liked the amazing Mac & Cheese pizza. In my view, this is a must-see among Nashville’s breweries!
Southern Grist Brewing Corporation
+16292037159754 Douglas Avenue, Nashville, TN 37207, USA
+161586471335012 Centennial Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37209, USA
When Southern Grist first began in 2016, they used a system that was practically no bigger than a regular homebrew setup.
It was more than enough to earn them a loyal following for their unusual limited-edition releases, some of which were designed to mimic the tastes of cocktails. They featured fruity beers and sours, which were easy to drink for people who weren’t crazy about hops.
The Nations’ capacity was enhanced by upgrading to a bigger second taproom and brew facility. Despite this, throughout their five-year existence, Southern Grist has launched over 600 distinct small-batch recipes. So you never know what to expect when you look at the Southern Grist beer menu.
Southern Grist is one of my favorite breweries in Nashville, and they are an all-around pleasant brewery. They make a broad variety of beers, but none of them are very popular, and you may not see a favorite for a time.
They make a lot of lagers, but they also specialize in hazy IPAs, sours, and pastry stouts. One of my favorites is their fruity sour Hill series, which is one of their many varied beer series.
Southern Grist, a terrific company, is one site that adds to Nashville’s individuality. You should give it a go!
East Nashville Brewing Company
+16158913108320 E. Trinity Ln., Nashville, Tennessee 37207, USA
East Nashville Beer Works is a local gem with a big beer garden that hosts pop-up yoga classes and old-school movie screenings on occasion.
Both children and pets are welcome on this exceptionally big patio. Every night, live music is performed in the taproom.
There’s also a great assortment of beers, including creative IPAs, stouts, and traditional Belgian and German lagers. Pizza, snacks, and salads are also available if you are hungry.
If you’re searching for a great place to hang out, everyone should come here. Also, if you suffer from social anxiety, this facility is wonderful since it is not limited to one kind of person.
You will not feel out of place since there are individuals of all ages and it is seldom overcrowded. I wholeheartedly recommend it! It is one among Nashville’s greatest breweries.
Final Thoughts on Nashville’s Finest Brewery
Nashville has seen an incredible amount of new restaurants and craft breweries open in recent years, but unlike eating places, relatively few existing breweries have closed in the last 10 years.
Brewery owners may be aware of the town’s and visitors’ ravenous need for excellent beer, or it may just be that Nashville brewers continue to make some really outstanding beers.
Whatever the reason, Brewsic City is fortunate with so many good breweries that you could visit a different one every night for a month and not run out of options. You should get started!
Visiting other places in Tennessee? Check out our other tasty guide:
- The Best BBQ In Memphis
- 8 Best Knoxville Restaurants
- 7 Must-Try Memphis Restaurants
- 15 Best Nashville Brunch Restaurants