As a kid, we all loved any chance to escape the classroom and attend the rare field-trip. Now we’re getting a little older and working in the real world, but this feeling still remains. When the opportunity presented itself for Swiftwick to be involved with
Hammerhead Bicycle’s Beer Blog Friday, everyone jumped at this without hesitation. Naturally, we chose our local brewery—Yazoo—as we all here have never been to the brewery, they support mountain biking and love our socks, and well…make damn good beer.
After the Nashville brew appeared at Hammerhead for their experts to put it to the test, we spoke with Neil and arranged a private tour of the 5,000 sq ft facility in Nashville’s Germantown District.
Upon arrival, we were greeted with complimentary Dos Perros and Pale Ales for our 8-person tour. Having never been to Yazoo Brewery, we were all shocked to see the factory’s adjacent tap room packed! Not only that, we discovered that our local cyclists and friends like the place too as we ran into several folks we knew.
Despite being slammed, Neil took the time to explain their brewing process, history, bottling, labeling and upcoming beers and move to be on the lookout for. Some facts that we all found interesting:
--As large as the operation appears, Yazoo employees 7 full-time people.
--The name Yazoo is a county and a river in Mississippi and is the brewmaster’s hometown.
--Currently, the building they are in is about 100 years old and at one time was known as the “Detroit of the South”, producing touring cars for most of the southeast.
--They are moving to an area we Nashvillian’s call the Gulch due to a need for space.
--Look for a variety pack to hit shelves soon! Yay!
--All their production waste is utilized by a local farmer for feed for his animals.
--Wort does not taste good.
Our tour commenced as we finished our beers. Nice. We naturally filtered into the tap room after our tour and stayed until the lights came on—our indication to pack it up and head out. If ever in Nashville, stop by Yazoo Brewery and Tap Room. You will imbibe and dine with an eclectic, undoubtedly Nashville crowd.
Our Beer Blog Friday ReportSam Miller—Relationship Manager My favorite beer is and has been for a while Dos Perros. Now my review will not be as official as Hammerhead because they sound like experts. The fact of the matter is I tend to like beer that is a little dark but not too dark. I don't know about hops or malt or way these great drinks are brewed. What I do know is my mouth likes it, so since my mouth likes it, I like it.
Dos Perros is a darker beer with a taste that is just right, not too strong but not too light. It doesn't taste really heavy either like a Guiness or Left Handed Milk Stout would. I also like the way the beer lingers, it has a very pleasant after taste. That is about how technical I get, you should try it, I bet you'll like it.
Rachel Scott—Marketing Director I’m not nearly the ale sommelier that the Hammerhead Beer Bloggers appear to be; however, I do know what I like and will do my best not to butcher the description. In other words, don’t laugh. I’d have to say my favorite Yazoo brew was the Sly-Rye Porter. I’m a fan of dark, bitter tastes from coffee to red wine, and beer is no exception. I liked the Yazoo Porter as it was not nearly as sweet as some other Porters I’ve had in the past. Though the website states that it’s a chocolaty Porter, it was more of the 72% dark cocoa.
After initial taste tests, the finish was a little peppery or spicy, my taste buds can’t tell the difference. I did a sample of all 6 Yazoo Brews and I found myself going back to this English style Porter. My only dislikes were my poor food pairing choices: Brewer’s Yeast Pecans=great, Sly-Rye Porter=great, combined=dehydration. Next time, I’ll have this beer with steak. 5.7% abv
Lucas McCain—Swiftwick fan and Assistant to Marketing DirectorYazoooooo – after a great tour of the facilities we settled in to the taproom for FRESH Yazoo brews. Since I didn’t want to be selective, I made the decision to spread the love and try some of Yazoo’s flagship beers as well as a new Amber. I’ll start out in order, at least as I remember, cause these beers were going down easy.
Beer #1 - Yazoo’s Pale Ale. This a modern take on my favorite beer, the American Pale Ale. The lighter amber color of this beer is typical amongst pale ales but Yazoo’s brew has a nice citrus taste to mix with its bitter kick. The Pale Ale is my favorite beer that Yazoo regularly bottles.
Beer #2 – Dos Perros. While I’m not typically a fan of Dos Perros, I felt obliged to give it a shot while at the brewery. Dos Perros has a great following in Nashville and, I will admit even though it is cliché’, is very good with a nice fat spicy burrito. This dark brown ale has a malty feel to it which finishes off with a clean coffee taste. Personally, I prefer a bite but this beer is goes well with spicy food.
Beer #3 – Something Red(Silky's??). Yes, it was one of those nights and by the time I reached my third style of beer, the names started to blur a bit. Yazoo had a limited edition Amber beer serving on tap and it was goooooood. Is this enough for you?
All in all the tap room was a warm and friendly place that screams for you to raise a glass and turn your head every time the doors opens and shout “Norm”.
James Hurlburt—Account ExecutiveI personally preferred the pale ale that I had the great pleasure of tasting while at Yazoo. I typically take a liking to the lighter beers when I go to grab a cold one, but this was unlike most “light” beers. It had more flavor then I have ever tasted in a light micro brew. Normally a light beer tastes as if it has a secret blend of H2O, but the Yazoo pale ale had more of a bold flavor that left a pleasant aftertaste. Not to mention, feeling like your standing in a row boat after just one glass, taste aside, I always take the road less traveled when it comes to drinking away a tough day. Lucky for me, the Yazoo pale ale had a lasting effect and a great taste!! I might go get one right now….
As our first go at Beer Blog Friday comes to a close, we look forward to participating again this spring/summer. Maybe this time sampling an Austin brew??
