Posted by (Part of the “Is Nashville, TN A Craft Beer Destination City?” Series)
This originally wasn’t a part of Nashville I was originally going to write about. I was going to put these breweries on the West Nashville, TN list. But after talking to Scott Mertie from Nashville Brewing Company, while we were doing our Brewery Underground Podcast at Blackstone Brewing Company, he told me they considered themselves in Midtown, so this post was born. (You can listen to that podcast here): https://open.spotify.com/episode/4wmBkfIrg4og7gnpdBlSbI
I’m actually glad I pulled these breweries out of the West Nashville, TN list because it made that list shorter, and these breweries get to stand out on their own in this part of town. Geographically some of these breweries could be listed in other parts of town but I like these where they are.
With all that being said, you can certainly include these breweries in your West Nashville, TN Brewery Adventures, as they are very close to each other.
Blackstone Brewing Company – 2312 Clifton Ave, Nashville, TN 37209. I’ve always loved this brewery – going back to their original location on West End Ave. I can still remember the awesome bar and their fish and chips. They are Nashville’s oldest and most award-winning brewery that began in 1994. This location is their brewery and taproom. The brewery has a fully automated 30-barrel system and their own bottling line. They are one of the few breweries to still bottle in Nashville.
While you’re here you’ll see several Nashville Brewing Company beers as well as see them referenced in various ways. This is because these 2 breweries have a partnership where Nashville Brewing Company’s beer is brewed at Blackstone and they have a close relationship. See further down this list for a write-up about Nashville Brewing Company. Visiting this brewery taproom is great because you can drink great beer from both breweries.
Blackstone’s core Year-Round beers are Chaser (Kolsch), Nut Brown Ale, St. Charles Porter, HopJack IPA, Adam Bomb IPA, and Black Belle Imperial Stout.
Their seasonal beers are (all of which I love) – Blueberry Picnic, Strawberry Picnic, Dark Matter (Black IPA), and a beer that is in my top 2 or 3 of ALL TIME – Pumpkin Ale. Pumpkin Ale isn’t just one of my favorite pumpkin beers – it’s literally 1 of 5 beers I’ve ever given a 5.0 rating to in Untappd! It also won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Fest in 2023.
In addition to their core and seasonal beers they 9 special releases consisting of: Barista Brew (Coffee Stout), Chocolate Milk Stout, Ex-Girlfriend Wild Berry Sour, Fancy Boy (NEIPA), Imperial Jack (IPA), Little Jack (Lo-Cal IPA), Oatmeal Stout, Phaze Shift (Juicy/Hazy IPA), and TropJack IPA.
Their taproom consists of 16 different beers on tap that you can get in flights, pints, crowlers and growlers plus 6-packs to go. There is plenty of seating at the bar as well table tops and chairs that allow you to look into the brewery facility.
Something else you can do at this brewery is actually take multiple different types of tours. They have a Guided Tour for $10 that gets you (2) 10oz beers that takes about an hour, there is an Historical Tour from Scott Mertie that occurs on one Friday afternoon per month for $15 (includes 2 pints of beer) and is about 1.5 hours long. Lastly, they have a Founders Tour with Kent Taylor (co-founder of Blackstone Brewing Company), this gets you a one-on-one tour or a group of up to10 people and is a more in-depth experience for people like homebrewers, beer geeks, etc for $300.
For food they have a 1989 Ford School Bus that is permanent and has been retrofitted with a full kitchen that has burgers, fries, fish and chips, artichoke dip and many daily specials plus There is also plenty of parking in their own lot, which is always an added bonus in Nashville.
Definitely visit this brewery and taproom for the great quality and selection of beer, history and the cool. Their location is very close to some of the others on this list so you can visit multiple of them in a short period.
Nashville Brewing Company – 2312 Clifton Ave, Nashville, TN 37209. If this address looks familiar – it’s because it is. It’s the same address as Blackstone Brewing Company above, as Nashville Brewing Company’s beer is brewed at Blackstone. When you visit this brewery, you’re going to be able to drink Nashville Brewing Company’s beer as well as Blackstone Brewing Company’s.
Nashville Brewing Company is actually historic in Nashville as it originally began operating in 1859 until it closed in 1954. Scott Mertie revived the brand in 2016 and partnered with Blackstone Brewing Company to bring back these German Style Lagers. With 3 flagship beers – Original Lager, Light Lager and Amber Lager these are some of the best lagers you’ll find anywhere. (The Light Lager won a gold medal at The Great American Beer Fest in 2023.) In addition to the Flagship beers, they brew 4 Seasonal beers – 1897 Pilsner, Bock Beer, Festbier, and Nashzwickel. They’ve also brewed 6 different Special Releases – Holiday Bock, Black Lager, Maibock, Smoked, Zwickel My Pickle and Dunkel. I’ve had them all except the Smoked and Zwickel My Pickle and I’ve enjoyed every one of them.
The following taproom information is the same as Blackstone’s above, as they are in the same location since Nashville Brewing Company.’s beer is brewed at Blackstone.
Their taproom consists of 16 different beers on tap that you can get in flights, pints, crowlers and growlers plus 6-packs to go. There is plenty of seating at the bar as well table tops and chairs that allow you to look into the brewery facility.
Something else you can do at this brewery is actually take multiple different types of tours. They have a Guided Tour for $10 that gets you (2) 10oz beers that takes about an hour, there is an Historical Tour from Scott Mertie that occurs on one Friday afternoon per month for $15 (includes 2 pints of beer) and is about 1.5 hours long. Lastly, they have a Founders Tour with Kent Taylor (co-founder of Blackstone Brewing Company), this gets you a one-on-one tour or a group of up to10 people and is a more in-depth experience for people like homebrewers, beer geeks, etc for $300.
For food they have a 1989 Ford School Bus that is permanent and has been retrofitted with a full kitchen that has burgers, fries, fish and chips, artichoke dip and many daily specials plus There is also plenty of parking in their own lot, which is always an added bonus in Nashville.
Definitely visit this brewery and taproom for the great quality and selection of beer. Their location is very close to some of the others on this list so you can visit multiple of them in a short period.
Nashville Cider Company – 2312 Clifton Ave, Nashville, TN 37209. Nashville Cider is brewed by Blackstone Brewing Company, hence the same address as them. I haven’t had any Nashville Cider yet but will next time I’m in the brewery.
The following taproom information is the same as Blackstone Brewing Company’s and Nashville Brewing Company’s above, as they are in the same location since Blackstone contract brews for Nashville Brewing Company.
Their taproom consists of 16 different beers on tap that you can get in flights, pints, crowlers and growlers plus 6-packs to go. There is plenty of seating at the bar as well table tops and chairs that allow you to look into the brewery facility.
Something else you can do at this brewery is actually take multiple different types of tours. They have a Guided Tour for $10 that gets you (2) 10oz beers that takes about an hour, there is an Historical Tour from Scott Mertie that occurs on one Friday afternoon per month for $15 (includes 2 pints of beer) and is about 1.5 hours long. Lastly, they have a Founders Tour with Kent Taylor (co-founder of Blackstone Brewing Company), this gets you a one-on-one tour or a group of up to10 people and is a more in-depth experience for people like homebrewers, beer geeks, etc for $300.
For food they have a 1989 Ford School Bus that is permanent and has been retrofitted with a full kitchen that has burgers, fries, fish and chips, artichoke dip and many daily specials plus There is also plenty of parking in their own lot, which is always an added bonus in Nashville.
Definitely visit this brewery and taproom for the great quality and selection of beer. Their location is very close to some of the others on this list so you can visit multiple of them in a short period.
Tailgate Brewery – Music Row – 1538 Demonbreun St, Nashville, TN 37203. Probably originally known for their pizza, Tailgate Brewery now has 7 Nashville area locations and another one in Chattanooga, TN (with 1 more on the way in Murfreesboro, 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.
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.
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 taproom has a draft wall of 30 taps that include their beer, seltzers and ciders.
Additionally, this particular location is known for their ciders and boast that they are Nashville’s first craft cidery. You will find 3-5 small batch ciders that are exclusive to here in addition to their beers and seltzers.
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. 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 Thursday 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. This used to be the old Dan McGuiness location, if anyone remembers and is right off of the roundabout with the naked people statue.
Their parking situation isn’t great, but they do have a pay lot directly behind their building and street parking is possible, but good luck finding it.
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.