A Beer Loving Nashville Vacation
- ablondewithabrew
- Jul 20, 2024
- 6 min read
Drinking Good Beer, Eating Well, and Looking Pretty in Music City.
What do you think of when you think of Nashville? I always thought of country music ranging from lively honky-tonks to the intimate shows played by smalltime performers with big dreams like those on the TV show Nashville. I also thought of Nashville Hot Chicken and bachelorette parties attended by girls wearing rhinestone bedazzled cowboy boots and hats. I further imagined a city filled with lots of beautiful murals and views from browsing other peoples' travel posts and viewing different blogs.
I found some of all of the above, and more when I finally visited Nashville. Keep reading to learn what breweries I most enjoyed visiting, my favorite restaurants, shops, and other things to do in Music City.
Beer
Southern Grist Brewing Co. - This brewery had long been on my wishlist to visit ever since enjoying their Blueberry Cobbler Muffin collab with my local Portland brewery Great Notion. With two taprooms in town, I visited their location in The Nations neighborhood, which is conveniently located next to another must-visit of mine, the flagship store of one of my favorite brands Able. Southern Grist lets you build your own flight, making tasting easy, and they also allow you to purchase single cans of beers to go, something I wish every brewery offered.
Bearded Iris Brewing - A staple of the Nashville beer scene, Bearded Iris also has two locations in town. I visited their Sylvan Supply location, which is designed to be more "intimate and vibey" compared to their larger, Germantown location. This location features their lager program, their small-batch experimental brews,
and also has some of their well-known favorites.
Barrique Brewing & Blending - If you love mixed culture wild ales and saisons, this is the brewery for you. The taproom is chill with few frills, and you are surrounded by barrels and all their various bottles for sale. I particularly enjoyed their different TenneSPON series wild ales and took home one of the variations. Barrique also brews some delicious lagers and pilsners for those looking for less funky beers.
TailGate Brewing - Serving up both craft beer and pizza, TailGate takes great pride in how it treats its employees by advertising benefits rarely seen in the craft beer industry, such as 401(k) matching and 100% company paid health benefits. While this does sway my opinion of any organization, TailGate's beer also holds up on its own. With seven locations in Nashville, I enjoyed visiting their spot right outside of Nashville's AAA baseball park before enjoying a game.
Food
In the order pictured above going clockwise from the top left:
Biscuit Love - A brunch spot worthy of the hype and waiting in the long line. I almost went back a second time. The Bonuts (pictured) are a must.
Martin's BBQ - One of the more well-known BBQ restaurants in Nashville. Martin's had my favorite meat.
Brave Idiot - A food truck parked behind No Quarter serving amazing burgers and chicken. Save 10% off your bill when you show them a picture of your cat. Bring your food inside No Quarter to enjoy and then head across the street to Smith & Lentz for (more) beer.
Parlour Doughnuts - This is a chain, but I don't have Parlour Doughnuts where I live, and I sure wish I did now. Some of the best doughnuts I have ever had, and this says a lot considering I live in the home of Blue Star Donuts and VooDoo Doughnuts.
Frothy Monkey - The best coffee I had in Nashville. I tend to prefer hot coffee drinks, but I loved the Havana Latte iced.
Edley's BBQ - Another well-known BBQ spot in Nashville. I really enjoyed the side dishes here, and would have loved to have tried more of their meats.
Not pictured:
Hattie B's Hot Chicken - Is this even an article about Nashville without including Hattie B's? I think Hattie B's deserves its hype. A must on a visit to Nashville.
Coco's Italian Market - Part restaurant and part Italian specialty grocery store, you can enjoy a sit down meal of pasta, but we opted to get sandwiches to go from their meat counter and share a cannoli.
Things to do
Explore street murals - Nashville has some of the best, if not the best, street art all around the city that I have ever seen. It's clear this city takes much pride in its appearance. Several neighborhoods have clusters of murals, and some of these murals are so popular that there are even formal queues to line up to get your picture of them (both of the above murals had these). I even saw people with outfit changes for these photo ops. Here is a map of Nashville murals.
Shop - I learned that many people visit Nashville just for its shopping. Two shopping areas that I enjoyed were The Gulch and 12South, but with a preference for 12South. Both neighborhoods also contain many murals worth checking out between shops, including some of Nashville's most recognizable ones. Several of the the restaurants I mentioned above are also located in these neighborhood. Along with the shops I will list, these areas also have some great larger retailers, but I typically stick to more local stores when traveling.
Some of my favorite local stores in these neighborhoods included:
The Gulch - E. Allen (my favorite shop visited in Nashville), Kittenish (if you want some great photo ops -- the whole store is just made for the perfect Instagram post), and Uncommon James (especially if you're a Kristin Cavallari fan).
12South - White's Mercantile (another favorite), Imogene + Willie, Draper James (exactly what you'd imagine a brand created by Reese Witherspoon would look like), Emerson Grace (another shop I particularly enjoyed), and Vinnie Louise.
Visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum - This museum details the history of country music and highlights many of the artists who have shaped its journey from past to the present. I recommend getting the audio tour.
Enjoy a show at The Listening Room Cafe - There is plenty of live music always happening on Nashville's famous Broadway (NashVegas) in the numerous honky-tonks, but The Listening Room Cafe is much more my scene. Buy your tickets online in advance and you will be treated to a show with some of the best local artists Nashville has to offer on any given night.
Catch a Nashville Sounds game - The Milwaukee Brewers AAA team calls Nashville its home. Tickets are more affordable and the vibe is more laid back compared to MLB games. They even do fun giveaways and ticket promotions. When I went, we got free Squishmellows and 4 tickets that came with hotdogs and soft drinks for under $50.
Shop used bookstores - Seeking out used bookstores is something I make a point to do in any city, and I found some really good ones in Nashville. My favorite was McKAY's, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it's huge! I also really enjoyed Half Priced Books and Rhino's Books was a fun, more quirky stop. It even had a resident cat.
Tour the Tennessee State Capitol - Guided 45 minutes tours are offered for free on weekdays. I enjoy learning more about a state when I happen to be visiting its capital.
Visit Centennial Park - This 132 acre park is home to a replica of the Parthenon, walking trails, and volleyball courts just to name a few of its amenities. Taylor Swift even mentions the park in her song "Invisible String", and the park contains a bench dedicated to her.
Explore Downtown Nashville - While not my scene, strolling down Broadway is a must to see what the fuss is about. If a honky-tonk is on your agenda, you have plenty to choose from here. Walk over to the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge for an excellent view of the downtown skyline. When we were on the bridge, some local musicians were filming a country music video, which felt very perfectly Nashville. Downtown Nashville is also the home to several murals to check out on a casual stroll.
Final Thoughts
Had I had more time, the two big things I wish I could have done while in town, but did not get to do, were visiting the Grand Ole Opry and Living Waters Brewing. The Grand Ole Opry offers backstage tours, but they are a little pricy. Both the Opry and Living Waters are also somewhat out of the way from the other activities on our itinerary.
Nashville is pretty tough to navigate without renting a car, but not impossible. My hotel had a free shuttle that could be used for trips to and around downtown, which helped keep us from needing our own car, but we still had to rely quite a bit on Ubers, Lyfts, and some rides from friends. However, not having a car or access to reliable public transportation did shape some of our itinerary decisions. I tend to prefer visiting cities that are less car dependent.
Have you visited Nashville? Was your favorite brewery, restaurant, or thing to do in this post? Let me know in the comments.
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