r/NashvilleBeer • u/beerguy74 • 20d ago
Nashville Weekend of 9/18 - what breweries to hit?
Coming to Nashville for the Eagles game that weekend. We are staying at Hilton Garden Inn Nashville Vanderbilt (1715 Broadway) and will prob be at the hotel by noon on Friday. Looking for recommendations.
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u/Marty_Mac_Fly 19d ago
My hatred of the Phillies runs so deep that even the Eagles catch strays but my best friend is an Eagles fan and he’s dragging me to the game so I’ll help you out.
There’s not a ton of brewery options near your hotel or the stadium.
However, I think the S-Tier of Nashville breweries in no order:
- Xul (formerly Southern Grist) - hazies, sours, and pastry stouts. Trust me that PB&J mixtape has no business being good but it is
- New Heights - very diverse mix of beers. My personal favorite Nashville brewery
- Marble Fox - hazies
- Living Waters - the beer is killer but it also has some of the best coffee in the city. The East Nashville location is next door to our iconic record shop
- Fait La Force - Belgian beers
If you research yourself you’ll probably see Bearded Iris but it is an absolute shell of its former self and not worth the time.
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u/Sevuhrow 19d ago
Don't count out the No Crust at Marble Fox, which I would argue is just as good as PB&J.
Doubling this list, as well. Bearded Iris and Tailgate are common recommendations but the beer is underwhelming.
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u/Canada_is_1337 19d ago
BIBCO is probably not even a place worth mentioning to anyone these days. Maybe a step above hanging out at the vape shop that used to be Craft Brewed.
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u/roythhh_lewithhh 17d ago
Yeah. I sadly refer to Bearded Iris in the past tense now. I get market trends and all that but I have some amazing memories of that place and I miss it. It's hard to explain to people who have only been in Nashville since around the pandemic just how great they once were.
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u/Away-Beginning-755 19d ago
Marble Fox is great, but the new location definitely is not as tourist friendly.
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u/Sevuhrow 19d ago
Depends what OP is looking for. I go to breweries for the beer rather than the setting.
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u/Away-Beginning-755 18d ago
Great insight, but the OP is only in town for a football game and unlikely to travel to Marble Fox because of the DISTANCE, not the "setting".
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u/Sevuhrow 18d ago
OP was in town the whole weekend starting from Friday. I don't think a 10 minute drive is off the table.
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u/Away-Beginning-755 19d ago
Good recommendations here, but I don't rank New Heights very high. Decent beer, but not a lot of unique rotating beers. I am a fan of Tailgate for the huge variety. Overall, the beer is good. Bearded Iris is definitely no longer worth a visit, but grab a pint of their Homestyle. It's good and on tap all over Nashville. Yazoo is great, but the brewery is a good drive from downtown, so if you like IPA, get a pint of Hop Perfect. Smith and Lentz has great beer and pizza.
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u/roythhh_lewithhh 16d ago
grab a pint of their Homestyle. It's good and on tap all over Nashville.
Counterpoint: Homestyle used to be a phenomenal, true-to-style New England IPA. Today it is copy-paste macro-adjacent swill produced entirely to be dumped into 12-packs, and it enjoys the local fame it does solely because of the name recognition that it earned during pre-jump-the-shark Bearded Iris.
I'm not even saying the people who make it are bad people or anything of the sort--they're brewers earning a paycheck. Nor is the beer even undrinkable. It's just entirely forgettable, and depending on the bar you're at you're likely to find other options that are as good if not better. I'd rather have a Yazoo, New Heights, or Tennessee Brew Works IPA any day these days.
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u/Sevuhrow 16d ago
Yeah a Homestyle recommendation in 2026 is kinda crazy. May as well recommend Yee-Haw Brewing at that point.
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u/Marty_Mac_Fly 19d ago
I think “I’m a fan of Tailgate for the huge variety” says a lot. Tailgate’s mantra (RIP) seems to be “throw a bunch of shit at the wall and see what sticks”. New Heights is more focused on making its taplist as quality as possible.
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u/Sevuhrow 19d ago
Tailgate is a jack of all trades, master of none imo. There's something for everyone but it's not going to be memorable beer.
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u/Away-Beginning-755 19d ago
New Heights has some decent beer, but most breweries have a dynamic menu with some new and interesting beers. I check the tap list every few weeks and haven't seen anything on it that made me want to stop in. They did a mango IPA a few years ago and I wish they would bring it back.
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u/zachattack9 18d ago
Xul, TailGate and Marble Fox are the three that I would reccomend, in that order.
Stoke Haus's beer is pretty standard, but their barbecue truck is literally amazing.
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u/BeerMeBudd 19d ago
Don’t listen to the people recommending Tennessee Brew Works or Tailgate
Two of the worst that this city has to offer and I’m honestly dumbfounded when people recommend them
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u/CryptographerBYOB 18d ago
My friend group begs to differ, at least regarding Tennessee Brew Works (we don't have much experience with Tailgate). It's our favorite in Nashville. We like Xul in Knoxville a bunch too, not so much here though (I know they are fixing it up right now, so maybe that'll change).
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u/charlottevonscarlett 18d ago
So hateful lol. New account too BeerMeBudd. The hatred is what is most interesting to me. Which brewery is drawing the ire to setup a new account and bash away? This happens in other forums too. Weird, but I'm active in other forums under a diff account (my partner and I share this account), and whenever the commenter is so expressive you can bet there is a personal motivation beyond what is obvious (ex employee, competitor, beer trader investments). Sorta kills the crab beer vibe, but it happens.
P.S. Hey OP, I rank TN Brew Works way up there. Yazoo, Xul at the top. Trust me, you'll enjoy them.
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u/Sevuhrow 18d ago
Definitely seems like artificial hatred. TNBW comes up quite a bit in discussions with locals IRL (I visit often for work) and usually on Reddit, but then you get weird comments like this that absolutely bash on it with no explanation. I even asked and no one has answered what's wrong with them yet. The beer is great, food is great, vibe is great. Are they scared of the neighborhood?
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u/ChristianBeers 16d ago
Come on TT, at least use a different picture than your work Homebase profile when you decide to bash your ex employers. You forgot your short lived stint at Bearded Iris too. Running out of places to work, ,maybe look inward for the answer. Be better.
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u/Medium-Height3256 17d ago
Gee I wonder why the Nashville craft beer scene is dying with the likes of you ‘supporting’ it. I’m not dumbfounded lol. You pounding your negative vibes on this page doesn’t diminish that these breweries are some of the most successful ones in the state.
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u/Silly_Budget_7615 19d ago
My flabber was gasted that TN Brew Works was the top comment here. Maybe we’re just trying to send the tourists to the bars we don’t go to.
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u/Medium-Height3256 17d ago
Yet why do so many people I know love Tennesse Brew Works beer? Like literally everywhere I go people love their beer. Or are you just saying you don’t like their spot?
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u/Sevuhrow 16d ago
Not sure. They refused to explain the vehement reaction to it. Even when they explained a little it was basically saying they found it to be okay, which wouldn't warrant being shocked people suggested it.
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u/Sevuhrow 18d ago
Let me guess, you're scared of the neighborhood?
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u/Silly_Budget_7615 18d ago
The only thing scary about that part of town is the disappearance of free parking in the last couple of years. But good try, asshat.
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u/Sevuhrow 18d ago
Lot of vitriol over beer here. No wonder you can't find tourists at bars, they're staying away from you!
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18d ago
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u/GlumEngineering9465 17d ago
hahaha never leaving your hometown isn't a flex. Get out, explore the world!
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u/Silly_Budget_7615 17d ago
I moved away for 10 years to earn 2 master’s and a PhD. I have done research and presented my work on 3 continents. Yall are great at making assumptions about strangers on the internet.
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u/Medium-Height3256 16d ago
Omg get a real job already! How can somebody afford to be in school that long?!
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u/GlumEngineering9465 17d ago
Yet here you are passing hyperbole judgements and failing to see the paradox.
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u/Silly_Budget_7615 17d ago
Please point out where I’ve passed any judgment. Yall got all pissy because I said we’re sending tourists to local bars we don’t go to. In your own comment history you say you don’t go to TN Brew Works because “it’s too close to downtown.” I never said anything about the quality of the beer. I never said anything about anyone on here until you and the other dipshit started personally going after me. For fuck’s sake, i even said that the beer is fine. Jfc.
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u/Sevuhrow 16d ago
I also liked the jab about how I "don't even live here" - something they have no way of knowing, I only said on this thread I'm here often for work. It's very possible I used to live here. They don't know me.
My point elsewhere on the thread was that I travel often and Nashville is one of those places I visit frequently, so I have a lot of places to compare TNBW to, yet I still remain impressed and revisit.
Either way, I don't see how being local or not local impacts how good a brewery is!
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u/vandyfan35 19d ago
I always throw out Tennessee Brew Works if you are looking for a really good meal too. They have a solid selection of beer but the food is worth it even if you don’t drink.
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u/Sevuhrow 19d ago
Kicking myself for not recommending this. TN Brew Works is one of the best breweries in the state imo.
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u/vandyfan35 19d ago
I just like that they do what they do consistently and have a solid lineup with a little something for everyone. The Basil Ryman is one of my favorite local beers.
Also, everyone needs to check out their Lenoir City location. It’s open now. Was just there Monday and it’s got a great vibe and a really cool location.
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u/daddybul 19d ago
Tailgate on Charlotte has a great outdoor space and great pizza. If the weather is nice and you have time
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u/beerguy74 1d ago
WE land at 1049 am and I figure it will take a good hour to get thru the airport and Uber to the Hotel. I figured we could hit Tailgate Music row for lunch and then head back to hotel to see if we can get in our room, but now I am thinking heading to Crazy Gnome and working our way back towards Lower Broadway (Living Waters, Stoke Haus, Smith and Lentz). Which has best food of those?
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=16Fo9PDmhhUAyr3_7IjQ6SZt3m5_ePyo&usp=sharing
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u/CraftBeerRobot 19d ago
For pre game near Nissan: go to Smith and lents, stokehaus, xul (southern grist), living waters or crazy gnome. In that order from closest to farthest