Posted by (Part of the “Is Nashville, TN A Craft Beer Destination City?” Series)
This is a continuing series where I’m breaking down breweries in different parts of Nashville. You can read the original post of “Is Nashville, TN A Craft Beer Destination City?” and my previous post of “East Nashville, TN Breweries”. This is the 3rd in the series so far.
West Nashville is a very cool part of town and has some similarities to East Nashville. For instance, both have a Bearded Iris Brewing Company and a Southern Grist Brewing Company location, plus they both have a Five Points Pizza. Additionally, both parts of town have breweries that are in neighborhoods or have that neighborhood feel.
Based on the way I broke out some of these breweries in this post – West Nashville has more breweries than any other part of Nashville. I’ve combined Sylvan Park and The Nations neighborhoods, and I was really torn on adding the Midtown breweries (Blackstone Brewing Company, Nashville Brewing Company, and Nashville Cider Company), as they are all very close to West Nashville, but having 2 Tailgate Breweries on the same list seemed odd, so I decided I will create a Midtown brewery list next. (They are already written so it won’t take long to post). I thank Scott Mertie for this clarification on Blackstone and Nashville Brewing being in Midtown.
Bassline Brewing Company – 410 39th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37209.
Maybe the most underrated brewery in Nashville. Located inside of the L&L Market Building, they started out as Bold Patriot Brewing Company and rebranded as Bassline Brewing Company. I love their music theme that you can see in their logo and all of the tap handles look like the head of a guitar with the tuning keys. Steve and I are huge fans of this place as we’ve been here a couple of times since they’ve been Bassline. Their Head Brewer Chris Dolan was our first guest on our Brewery Underground Podcast and that just made us bigger fans of them and him.
The first thing that stands out when you walk in – is how big the taproom is. It’s very spacious with plenty of seating at high top tables, standard tables and at the extremely long bar. They also have their own dog friendly, large covered outside patio area and an additional shared patio with the rest of the L&L Market Building. They have plenty of TV’s around also, to watch sports. The parking is free and in a large lot that is shared with the L&L Market Building but with plenty of spots. I’ve never had an issue parking here, even on busy days.
Their beer is very good and with 20 different taps they have something for everyone including ciders and seltzers. Currently they have (3) different IPA’s, a Pumpkin Ale, a Pastry Stout, (2) Pilsners and (3) different fruited beers on tap – with the variety of beers on tap rotating regularly. In addition to those beers, they currently have (2) Ciders and (2) Seltzers. Beer, Ciders and Seltzers aren’t the only drinks that they have – you can order craft cocktails like an Espresso Martini, Cranberry Mimosa and Southern Cross. They have spirits too like Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch and multiple Vodkas. You can check out their full menu of beer and cocktails here: Craft Brewed Beverages (basslinebrews.com)
Since the last we were there, they’ve opened up a kitchen with a full menu. They have appetizers like Bavarian Hot Pretzel Sticks, Nashville Hot Wings and Pepperoni or Sausage Rolls. They’ve also got pizzas, calzones, hot sandwiches, sliders, bombers and even dessert. Check out their full menu here: Food (basslinebrews.com)
Let’s talk about some of the events that Bassline has. They have trivia every Tuesday night at 7PM, they also have something really cool called “Rebel Rounds” every Thursday night from 7PM to 10PM. It’s live music, on their stage, from seasoned artists to rising stars consisting of (3) one-hour long music sets – which goes right along with their music theme. Their website says they have a Happy Hour and sporting events, but they don’t give any details about either. You can also sign up for their rewards program on their website or in person. Here is the entertainment page from their website: Entertainment (basslinebrews.com)
If you’re on the West side of Nashville make sure to stop into Bassline Brewing Company and experience their beer, taproom, food and events. It’s a great place to hang out in a great part of town.
Bearded Iris Brewing Sylvan Supply – 4101 Charlotte Ave, suite 40, Nashville, TN 37209. This Bearded Iris location is a lot different than their other location in Germantown, and the one I typically go to. This one is home to their R&D system and lager program. The tap list at this location has small batch, experimental beers that the Germantown location doesn’t have, plus all of the beers that they do have. It also includes a ramen spot from Black Dynasty Secret Ramen House, inside of the brewery. I’ve not had the ramen, but I hear it’s very good.
The core beers that you’ll find at both locations on tap are Homestyle (IPA), Attention Please! (DIPA), Pep Talk Lager, Triple Homestyle (Triple IPA), and Chasing Rainbows (IPA).
The beers that are on tap only at this location are Easy Tycoon (Rice Lager), Material Monk (Belgian Witbier), Lotus Land, Hops 101: Alora (IPA), and One Cent Text (German Pils). Check out their tap list here: Tap List.
They also have non-beer items like Ciders, Kombucha, Seltzers, and Merlot.
This taproom is more intimate than the Germantown location but still has plenty of tables and some nice seating areas. You can see the brewing equipment up close and personal, but I think it’s a good look and gives the taproom some additional charm and character. They have their logo embedded into many things around the brewery, which I think is a nice touch.
I don’t see that they have any upcoming events in the taproom (at least according to their website calendar), but they have had some in past like trivia, beer releases and a holiday market, plus they do have TVs.
The parking lot here is very large, but it is shared with other businesses in the Sylvan Supply complex and can get quite full, however I’ve always found a parking spot.
Czann’s Brewing Company – 4909 Indiana Ave, Nashville, TN 37209. I learned something right out of the gate when I started writing about Czann’s – where the brewery name comes from. I never knew before and I never asked but I watched a short video on their website and the owner (Ken Rebman) describes that it’s a combination of 2 different family names – Czora (which is his mom’s maiden name) and his last name – Rebman, which is typically spelled with 2 N’s at the end. (CZ+ANN). I thought that was pretty cool.
Czann’s has (5) different Year- Round beers consisting of: Blonde Ale, Pale Ale, IPA, Dunkelweizen and a Scottish Ale. They currently have (2) seasonal beers: A Toasted Pecan Porter and a London Brown. I haven’t had either one of these yet, but I will very soon as they are both right up my alley and the overall Untapped ratings are very high for both. I put both of them in my Untappd wish list.
Czann’s has got a really cool and quaint taproom / brewery, that used to be a church and still has that look and feel. It’s got really high ceilings to remind you of it being a church and has nice wooden beams that run up the side walls of the ceiling to the very top, that further gives that church look. There are several tables and chairs in the taproom along with a seating area with a couch and chairs, plenty of seating around the 3-sided bar and even an outside patio space.
Ken is from Upstate New York, so the taproom has a Buffalo Bills theme to it, as well as it being a Bills backer bar. I’ve been in there just before a Bills game and it started filling up with Bills fans to watch it. Their food consists of Western NY dishes, including Beef on Weck, White Hot sausages, Buffalo Wings and thin crust 312 pizza. I haven’t had their food, but I’ve had these dishes in NY State, and they are legit. Wings are the best from the Buffalo area, and they don’t use ranch – only Blue Cheese. You can find their full menu here: Food (czanns.com)
Some of the events they have in the taproom are trivia on Wednesdays from 7-8, 2 for 1 Happy Hour on Thursdays from 4-7 and Friday lunch specials – which is – order one of their Western NY food items and get 2 for 1 pints from Noon until 2. They are going to have a fish fry on March 1st, 2024, and a comedy improv on March 8th, 2024. Check out their event calendar for their most up to date events here: czanns.com/events.
They have a parking lot out front so you shouldn’t have any issues but if the lot is full there is some street parking. I really like Czann’s for their beer, their look, their atmosphere and to see a little bit of Western NY represented – which is an area I’m familiar with. If you want to meet Ken, I think you can find him in the taproom pretty much all the time – as he’s been there serving beer every time I’ve been.
Fat Bottom Brewing Company – 800 44th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37209. I would call Fat Bottom a Destination Brewery. They literally have everything you need to stay all day if you wanted to. Multiple beer brands (See Music City Beer Company below), fine food, spacious taproom, a loft area upstairs for seating and watching sports, not to mention great outside area.
Their Core Beers consist of Knockout IPA, Ruby American Red Ale, Sandy Blonde Ale, Bertha Nitro Stout, Teddy Loves Pilsner and W.A.C. American Pale Ale.
Their Seasonal Beers consist of Daisy Hazy IPA, Summer Tropical Blonde, Jackie Pumpkin Ale and Noel Spiced Christmas Ale.
Fat Bottom was selected as Nashville Soccer Club’s official craft beer partner, and they brew 2 beers for them Pitch Invasion (Lager) and Breakaway IPA (Session IPA)
They also have a series called The Tempest, which are all named for bad-a** women in history. These beers are The Baroness (Bourbon Barrel Stout), The Admiral (Belgian Style Tripel Ale), Obsidian (Dark Saison Ale w/ Honey), and Cavalier (Saison Ale Brewed with Lychee Fruit and Brettanomyces) .
They even have a line of non-alcoholic “beer” called Hop Fizz. It has zero alcohol, calories, sugars and carbs. This is actually called a Sparkling Water with hops.
The taproom offers a full-service bar and restaurant that is family friendly. It’s very spacious with several tables and chairs as well as seating at the bar. The food menu includes things like a Fat Bottom Burger, Chicken Sandwich, various salads, fries, mac & cheese and desserts. They have some really solid and delicious food including a brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 AM to 2PM.
They have an upstairs area that they call The Loft, that overlooks the brewery production floor and has a mix of tables and soft seating and also has multiple TV’s. The outside beer garden area is pretty great too, that has corn hole, and the large patio area has additional seating. They also have an area called The Reserve, which is attached to the brewery and is an event space that includes a full-scale kitchen for appetizers or plated meals up to 200 people. The outdoor space is shared with the brewery.
The taproom has weekly Singo! on Tuesdays and trivia on Thursdays with a BOGO drafts Happy Hour from 4-6PM M-F. Brewery Tours are available Thursday – Saturday for 40 minutes with a tasting of 4 of their core beers. There is plenty of parking here as they have their own parking lot but if the lot is full, there is some neighborhood street parking close by.
Harding House Brewing Company – 904 51st Ave N, Nashville, TN 37209. I mentioned in our original post, “Is Nashville, TN A Craft Beer Destination City?”, that Nashville has a unique beer scene and Harding House definitely qualifies as unique. Nashville’s first farm-to-pint brewery, they brew seasonal artisanal beer with a lot of local ingredients including fruits and grains. They actually limit the ingredients they use to what is in season at the time, which makes them have to be creative in what they brew. By brewing in this way, they are always able to maintain new and fresh beer on tap as the seasons change. Their website doesn’t list their current beers on tap, as they are changing regularly, but they have 12 taps and I’ve had 45 different beers of theirs including a Strawberry Saison, Hibiscus Belgian Blonde, Deep Roots Carrot APA, and a Blackberry Saison. In addition to these unique beers, they have traditional styles too like their 8th Day IPA series, a Belgian Tripel and they even did their version of the Black Is Beautiful series in an Imperial Stout. These are all available in pints and flights up to 6. They’ve also got bottles and cans you can purchase to go. For those that don’t want beer, they have a cider and kombucha guest options. I can attest that they have very good beer and I always enjoy visiting them.
Their taproom is laid out well with plenty of seating around the bar, at tables and chairs and a seating area with softer chairs. They’ve got a nice patio area out front, and I know they are family and dog friendly. They’ve got 3 TV’s, a projector and board games inside and trivia every Thursday night at 7:30PM. The staff has always been friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Their food consists of a 12″ pizza, pretzel sticks, Kolaches and chips. According to their Facebook page they have a food truck on Saturdays.
If you’ve not been to Harding House Brewing Company, definitely put them on your list to experience something new and if you have been, make sure to go back. We always put them in the rotation when we do our West Nashville Adventure.
It’s with sadness that I just learned that Harding House Brewing Company’s last day of pouring beer at this location will be March 2, 2024. This is a tough one as we’re big fans of this brewery and were always part of our West Nashville Adventures. We hope this isn’t the last we hear from them. I’m going to keep them on this post for a while, since it took me so long to finish.
I just read that Harding House will move to a new location in East Nashville at 3101 Ambrose Ave, Nashville, TN 37207. The ownership has been downsized to one person and he is going to contract brew and hopefully open a taproom.
Music City Beer Company – 800 44th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37209. I originally was going to just mention this brand under the Fat Bottom Brewing Company above as they are owned by Fat Bottom and are at the same location, however as I was researching them, I quickly realized they have their own story to tell – separate from Fat Bottom – so I will help tell it.
Music City Brewing Company was acquired by Fat Bottom Brewing Company in 2018 after it had struggled with inconsistent product and quality for several years. This purchase led Fat Bottom to double its capacity by adding more tanks.
Music City Beer’s lineup consists of a Light Beer, an Amber, a Shandy, a Citrus Wheat and their Pitch, which is a lager and the official beer of the Nashville Soccer Club. You can find all of these beers in the Fat Bottom taproom, grocery stores, bars and restaurants. You can find these on draft around town or in cans.
The following taproom information is the same as Fat Bottom Brewing Company’s above as Fat Bottom owns Music City Beer Company and are at the same location.
The taproom offers a full-service bar and restaurant that is family friendly. It’s very spacious with several tables and chairs as well as seating at the bar. The food menu includes things like a Fat Bottom Burger, Chicken Sandwich, various salads, fries, mac & cheese and desserts. They have some really solid and delicious food including a brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 AM to 2PM.
They have an upstairs area that they call The Loft, that overlooks the brewery production floor and has a mix of tables and soft seating and also has multiple TV’s. The outside beer garden area is pretty great too, that has corn hole, and the large patio area has additional seating. They also have an area called The Reserve, which is attached to the brewery and is an event space that includes a full-scale kitchen for appetizers or plated meals up to 200 people. The outdoor space is shared with the brewery.
The taproom has weekly Singo! on Tuesdays and trivia on Thursdays with a BOGO drafts Happy Hour from 4-6PM M-F. Brewery Tours are available Thursday – Saturday for 40 minutes with a tasting of 4 of their core beers. There is plenty of parking here as they have their own parking lot but if the lot is full, there is some neighborhood street parking close by.
R.S. Lipman Brewing Company – 5901 California Ave, suite 105, Nashville, TN 37209. I’ve listed R.S. Lipman on here as they own 4 Nashville beer brands that you might be looking for. All 4 brands are brewed at this location but don’t have a taproom that you can visit, with the exception of Little Harpeth Brewing at the Nashville Airport, which is located at 1 Terminal Dr, suite B7, Concourse B, Nashville, TN 37214. The 4 beer brands are Hap & Harry’s Brewing Company, Honky Tonk Brewing Company, Little Harpeth Brewing and Turtle Anarchy Brewing Company. All of these brands can still be found locally at stores, bars and restaurants but you just can’t visit them. In order for this to be the most complete list of breweries for the Nashville area, I felt like these needed to be mentioned.
Rock ‘N Dough Pizza & Brewery – The Nations – 1105 51st Ave, Nashville, TN 37209. This is 1 of 3 Rock ‘N Dough locations in Nashville. I’ll write about 2 of them since the 3rd one is in Geodis Park and that’s not going to make the list.
Rock ‘N Dough Pizza & Brewery is based out of Jackson, TN and the beer for all locations is actually brewed and supplied by Hub City Brewing out of Jackson, TN, which is owned by the same owner as Rock ‘N Dough. I felt that was enough of a qualification to be listed as a “brewery” in Nashville. At least they make their own beer, albeit in a different city. (So does Monday Night Brewing – Preservation Company)
I know some of the beers are the same between Hub City Brewing and Rock ‘N Dough with different names, but I’m OK with that. For this post we’ll only be talking about the beers at Rock ‘N Dough Pizza & Brewery – The Nations.
I visited this location for the first time yesterday and I was blown away by everything they have to offer. First of all, the taproom is large with 8 high top tables and 6 booths, not to mention seating at the long bar. There is a large stage inside where they typically have had bands play in the summer. There are 4 TVs around the taproom and over the bar with an additional TV displaying all of their current beers they have. The taproom has a cool Rock ‘N Roll vibe that ties in perfectly with the Rock ‘N Dough theme (get it?). The walls are decorated with a pizza themed characters but with a Rock ‘N Roll flare, it’s really well done. There is also a large “pizza angel wings” mural on one of the walls, which is pretty cool. They were playing rock music that I really liked, and the volume was at a perfect level. They have a long-covered patio with 3 TVs as well as a Biergarten that looks really cool and is partially covered – with both being dog friendly.
Let’s talk about the beer. The TV that showed their beers, had a total of 23 listed (21 of which were their own brews) – 16 of those were drafts, 5 were in cans and 2 guest non-alcoholic beers. The beers were really good and so was the selection of styles. They had a Pilsner, multiple IPA’s, an Amber, a Porter, multiple Stouts ,Ciders and more. One of the ones I had was a Rye IPA – how many of those have you seen? I was very impressed with the quality and selection of their beers and will be back to make sure I drink as many as possible. I do regret not asking if they had flights, but I will find out and report back. For their full beer menu click here: Beer Menu.
They have an impressive full bar with over 200 whiskies, and I was thoroughly impressed with the selection. They’re not kidding when they say they have premium whiskies, they stock a lot of New Riff and Buffalo Trace products, not to mention they have a Whiskey Club. The Whiskey Club costs $65 a year and gets you 15% off all whiskey at both Nashville taprooms, plus 1/2 off on Wednesdays at this location, on select whiskeys. You even get access to exclusive and rare bottles at least once a month.
Rock ‘N Dough has some really good pizza. This location doesn’t do slices, but they do 10″ and 16″ pizzas that you can build your own or order ones like USA!USA!, Carnivore, Nashville Hot Chicken, Super Freak, Vegan and many more. Check out their food menu here: Food Menu. There’s another cool thing about this place and that’s where the kitchen is located. It’s downstairs from the taproom and when they bring the food out it looks like people are coming up from out of the cellar out of this little “opening”. Anyway, you have to see it to appreciate it.
Some of the events they have in the taproom are trivia nights on Tuesdays, Whiskey Wednesdays, Thursday Pint Night & What’s that song?, Friday Happy Hour from 2PM – 6PM and Football Sundays. They are also a Penn State watch bar. Here is their event calendar, currently they don’t have any live music booked but check back.
Parking here is actually pretty good and free. There are a few spaces right next to the building but a pretty good-sized lot right behind it.
Rock ‘N Dough Pizza & Brewery – The Nations, is a place that I would totally recommend on your brewery adventures in West Nashville. I’m totally keeping this one on my list.
Southern Grist Brewing Company The Nations Taproom – 5012 Centennial Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209. Where do we start? The beer. Definitely the beer. I have had more unique beers from this brewery than any other. If I had to recommend 1 brewery to visit in Nashville it would be Southern Grist. Creative, experimental, small batch is how I would describe Southern Grist’s beer. With their many unique styes this is the perfect place to get multiple flights in order to try them all – and when you do – be prepared to be in awe of some of the colors of the beers. Their awesome styles include the lactose sour ale series called “Hill” (my favorite), Double Dry Hopped series called “Mixed Greens”, The “Cobbler” series of lactose fruited cobblers, the “Pity” series of candy bar Stouts, the “Crispy Bois” series of Lagers and several more.
This location has more overall taproom seating than the East Nashville location with seating at tables, at the long bar and even a seating area with a couch. Their patio seats 45+ with picnic tables, a couch seating area and barrels for standing room. All of the patio is covered by either a hard covered roof or canvas sunshade sails to keep that hot TN sun from roasting you.
They have their L by Lauter restaurant has a Full menu from Thursday until Sunday and a limited menu from Monday through Wednesday and Thursday. This is not your typical bar food; this is high quality food with an executive chef on staff and offer things like green chili queso with pickled onion, as an appetizer, and a dry aged burger as an entree, among many other items – including a kid’s menu. This is one of their 2 locations (the other one is in East Nashville).
In addition to everything I mentioned above, they also have a full bar with wine, liquor and cocktails with multiple TVs, and a self-serve cooler that you can buy 4-pack cans, single cans and even larger 750ml bottles.
This location is actually their production facility as well, which is in a building right behind the taproom and an area that they sometimes host events. There is a parking lot in the front that is shared by the other businesses and sometimes it’s a little tight. If the lot is full, you can find some street parking in the area.
Click on any of the links above or here for their website to see the latest beers on tap and their current food menu.
Tailgate Brewery Headquarters – 7300 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, TN 37209. Probably originally known for their pizza, Tailgate Brewery now has 7 Nashville area locations and another one in Chattanooga, TN. No matter what part of town you’re in, there will be a Tailgate near you (even in the airport). What I love about this brewery is the endless selection of new beers they come out with and the multiple styles they continue to brew. They’ve got some pretty awesome series too that you should try like: the “Trees” series which are their Hazy IPA’s, and the “Schnack” series, which is their fruited small batch line, also their “Lager Projekt”, “Barrel Project”, “Dough Project” and “OFBFB Project” (Old Fashioned Beer Flavored Beer) – which are classic beers. They do flights and half pours, and they are very generous. This is another perfect place to get a flight or 3 because they have so many beers that you just have to try. This location is main production facility with a 15 bbl pilot system and a 50 bbl production brewery.
The way I like to drink beer, is to have a new one every time, and Tailgate might be the best at that. I can go into any location and find new beers every day of the week. In 2023 they brewed 265 total beers – that’s amazing to me and it tells me they will always have new beers every time I visit them. You can see all of their locations in the Nashville area on our Nashville Area Breweries List & Map page on this website. They also have a great docuseries about owning and growing a brewery that you can watch here: Docu-Series — TailGate Brewery.
I referenced pizza to start with and Tailgate has some of the best pizza in the city – and not JUST for a brewery. They have craft pizza, Detroit style pizza, salads, sandwiches, a kid’s menu, desserts, etc. This particular taproom and brewery sit on 7 acres that has an outdoor bar, a huge taproom, pizza by the slice shop, scratch pizza kitchen and a giant outdoor area that is partially covered. They are also family and dog friendly and even have a Mutt of the Month Club (for the dogs, not the kids). They have some TV’s for just hanging out and watching games, as well as Trivia Nights every Monday at 7PM and Movie Night every Thursday out back at 7PM. They also do a $5 pour on certain liquors including Buffalo Trace pour as well as having several other liquors and wine at each location.
Their parking situation is great as they have their own parking lot with plenty of parking spots and it’s free.
Click on any of the links above or here to check out their website to get more information about them, including their food menu, taproom events and their other locations.
Summary
West Nashville is definitely a part of town where you could spend all day brewery hopping with many food options either at the breweries or nearby. All of the breweries are relatively close to each other, and you could hit them all in 1 day. We like to make this West Nashville trek a couple of times a year. It’s a shame Harding House is gone but maybe another brewery will open in that spot. Regardless, I think there is room for even more breweries in this part of town and I hope that happens.
Leave us any comments or feedback after reading this. We like to be current in the Nashville beer scene, but we certainly don’t know everything and are open to suggestions and ideas.
Cheers!
Scott