**Click Here for Yazoo Moving Information **
Top 5 reasons to go to Yazoo Tap Room:
- It will be moving locations soon
- Historical significance of present location
- Eclectic surroundings
- Cult like following
- Their Beer
Top 5 things to be aware of when visiting Yazoo Tap Room:
- No formal parking lot
- This is not your daddy’s Tap Room
- Restrooms are not like (most) McDonald’s restrooms
- They are not open more than 6 hours a day
- There will most likely be a line and seating is very limited
Cock a Yazoo Doodle Doo…. Wake up, Baby! This place is phenomenal! It has a great business model, story and atmosphere. Not to mention, they serve beer.
We pulled up at the building and it was no surprise to me, but our guests had thought we were taking them to a vacant building to rob them. We calmed them down and let them know that we would rob them later, but right now we needed a beer. My first thought when walking to the door was that this place was humongous. I couldn’t believe that a brewery of this size was using so much square footage. We walked in through the front door and quickly turned right. That’s when it hit me. The entire building was not theirs. ( I must have been a little fuzzy from the first brewery of the day.) Not only was the entire building not theirs, but I think that only used 10-15% of the building.
I don’t know if there was a special event. It didn’t seem like it. But, there was a huge line. It was about 15 people deep and it moved slowly. The first room I came to was a sitting room with ceiling fans. (FYI, Nashville is hot in the summer. Check Weather.Com if you don’t believe me.) There wasn’t any air conditioning in this room and it led to a long courtyard with a picnic bench in the middle. Once the line moved a little, I could see that it wasn’t the bartenders fault that the line was moving slow. Almost everyone in front of me had a growler that they wanted to refill, along with getting a full fresh beer. (I can’t fault them for that, but my guests ,that I was going to rob later, were really sweating out their previous beers and getting kind of grumpy.) I am sure that the owners are going to address this situation with a growler filling station at the next location. *Hint. Hint.*
They were having tours every hour and it seemed as though they were fully booked. I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t be. With the limited hours, it was like a last call all day long. The stress of getting your last beer and finding that special someone to finish the evening with. You know what I’m talking about, right? The 2 A.M. Shuffle? The only problem here is that on Saturday they are only open from 2pm until 8pm, so the 2 A.M. Shuffle is out of the question. But the anxiety of getting enough beers at the taproom was clearly prevalent because there was a line the entire time we were there. The best part was that the bartenders did not seem rushed and paid attention to every detail of my order. They weren’t getting freaked out like most service people do that have a line 20 deep. It was all about me when I was at the counter. I really respect that kind of professionalism.
On to the Beer: I really liked it. It was smooth and creative. They have a hefeweizen that is an award winner, but my favorite was the Hop Project #19. As always, I am a hop-head and they will never change. It wasn’t overly hoppy and had a great balance.
The most compelling part about Yazoo is that it started with a dream. A dream so big that the owner quit his job and opened up the brewery. (Read This) Now that, my friend, is passion. I tend to see this type of trend with most brewers. Most of them have done home brewing for a few years. Some of them get formal education, but more importantly they take the leap and hit the challenge head on.
I wish that I had been there from the beginning. Yazoo is by no means a secret to the locals of Nashville or even visitors to Nashville’s many restaurants. Also, you can get their beer almost anywhere in Nashville, but the true feel of the Yazoo Brew is felt at the Tap Room. Like I said earlier, they are in the process of moving locations, so check it out soon. If you want to follow their progress, check out the Owner’s blog. (Owner’s Blog – Linus Hall)
Yazoo Taproom has mystique, history and passion. Make time to visit before it moves.