(Disclaimer: this is not a serious beer post. If you’re a beer snob, skip to the bottom about drunk burgers, because you’ll probably be annoyed at my taste testing comments.)
Beer and burgers go together like any classic American pastime, pretty unhealthy and a little dangerous. And that’s why they’re such a good combo. I don’t drink a lot of beer, but when I do, I go big or go home. I’m giving you a Nashville roadmap with just the right amount of stops to hit in 24 hours (or less), when you don’t have much time to have a good time, and local beer, burgers and brunch are on your list.
1. Yazzoo Brewery: Easily take the tour if you sign up in advance. Don’t be afraid of the lines, they move quickly. The beer flight is amazing and they almost always have a local food truck parked outside. This Saturday’s was – you guessed it – serving burgers! Hoss’ Loaded Burgers, find ‘em!
2. Jackalope Brewery: This was my first experience here and I’m already excited about going back. Started by two women (yay for female brewers!) the inside of their brewery is a designer’s delight.
Homey, inviting, warm, and kitschy and funny in all great ways. Jackalope is doing local beer right. You can’t go wrong with woodland creatures in my book.
They do a build your own beer sampler with their day’s offerings, or you can order pints. You pick them out, they give you the order in which you should drink. 
They also provide brewery tours. Here is what I tried:
4 Roses Deer Antler Series: like a whiskey mixed with a good beer, interesting but I couldn’t finish the whole thing for its strong whiskey taste, but my whiskey loving tablemates adored it.
Bear Walker: Full bodied and a little darker than the next two. I enjoyed its name as much as I did drinking it.
ThunderAnn: My favorite of the four, a nice amber taste.
Rainy Day Blues: (Ironically, as I sit writing this rain/ice/snow is pounding our windows. Again.) A light, earthy, very drinkable beer. My second favorite.
Those were your serious beer stops, where the afternoon and early evening ingestion occurs. *Tip: The two breweries are walking distance of each other!
The next stop I recommend is anything but serious. As in it looks like a trailer park honky tonk (because it is) full of tourists (sort of), but I love it all the same.
3. Paradise Park: I believe strongly that a pitcher of beer at Paradise Park downtown Nashville on Broadway has the power to cure a lot of things. Such as: provide a hearty dinner, make you friendlier, help you love thy neighbor by sharing it with them, and more! They have a long bar with tap beer, old bathtubs full of beer bottles, and great live music to go along with their sassy bartenders. Below is just an American sample:
But if you want more for dinner than a pitcher of beer, they have their own inner food truck (which it should be noted they had before food trucks became cool again). It serves bar food. It’s not fancy. I’m not here to sell you on their award winning steaks and sea bass.
But if you want a meal that meshes well with beer and honkytonking, and don’t want to slow down your night for a sit-down affair, Paradise Park’s burger has your back. Eat your burger, drink your beer, explore Broadway.
No matter how late you stay out, the sun will eventually rise in Nashville, which leads you to your next meal…
Brunch (sans burgers, if you want):
5. MStreet Restaurant group has a handful of great restaurants in the Nashville area. My favorite is Tavern.
housemade sangria
The relaxed, yet trendy, slightly party, vibe inside is just enough to not make you feel guilty that you’re still in a burger/beer induced coma walking in for brunch. Their fresh drinks will perk you right back up and prepare you for their fun dishes.
blood orange mimosa
Everything is delish, but I highly recommend the blood orange mimosas, parmesan fries, white trash hash, kaya toast and huevos rancheros.
white trash hash
parm fries
kaya toast
I’ll leave you with this photo of Tavern’s pretzel pancakes… Hungry yet?
