East Nashville has gotten even cooler with the addition of a new brewery and taproom in a part of town previously devoid of many good neighborhood hangouts. East Nashville Beer Works is located at 320 E. Trinity Lane between Ellington Parkway and Dickerson Pike, easily reachable from both sides of the river.
The brewery was started by Anthony Davis and Sean Jewett, whose organizing philosophy is, “We try every day to make damn good beer, period.” They also seek to create a sense of community around their attractive taproom, and early indications are that they are well on their way. Their grand opening was on Aug. 6 when they invited the Nashville public (including the mayor, who showed for a pint) into their modern facility to try their variety of beers and enjoy food from their tiny kitchen.
Not obsessed with hewing to any particular style, East Nashville Beer Works aims to have three to five of their own beers on tap at any given time plus a couple of seasonal beers and guest taps. When I visited, the three in-house recipes that they were featuring from their own 15-barrel brewhouse were all quite good. Their most popular offering has been Miro Miel, a smooth and sunny honey blonde beer made using Tennessee honey. This beer would be a fine gateway beer for folks looking to transition to craftier beers from commercial megabrewery light lagers, and I could imagine crushing a few pints while watching football on one of ENBW’s several televisions. There is also plenty of deck space for enjoying the great outdoors or a game or two of cornhole.
The second beer sampled was the Young Hickory Porter, a malt-centric beer featuring grain smoked over hickory wood in a small smoker in the backyard of the brewery complex. Still quite sessionable at only 4.5% ABV, this should be a great autumn beer when the weather turns chillier. The last beer they had on tap during my visit was the Swing Bridge IPA, featuring a nicely floral nose and an appropriately butter backbone contributed by four different varieties of hops, Magnum, Simcoe, Centennial and Citra.
East Nashville Beer Works also plans for another IPA offering under their Woodland Street Session IPA Series, featuring different seasonal hops throughout the year. Although the flavors will change over the months, the unifying factor will be a lower alcohol level, under 5%, which will encourage patrons to enjoy more than one during a visit to the taproom. Another encouragement to try out several different beers there will be ENBW’s happy hour 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, when they will offer pints at $1 off and a $12 “pint and pie deal.” Even during unhappy hours, the prices at the taproom are quite reasonable: $2 for 2-ounce tastings, $3 for half-pints and $5 for pints, plus Crowler and growler fills available.
East Nashville Beer Works beers are currently only available from the taproom, but the brewery plans to distribute to other locations through Bounty Bev in the future. Another important differentiating factor for the taproom is a full food menu under the direction of chef Jay Sowinski. Food options range from small bites like arepas and hummus plates to salads, pizzas and even desserts. The beer float made with that Young Hickory looks intriguing to me. Now that I know that I can reach East Nashville Beer Works in about 15 minutes from my home near Belmont, I can certainly imagine getting back there soon. Considering that they are constantly adding new beers to their repertoire and taproom offerings, there are plenty of reasons to return.
