We recently went with some friends to tour Yazoo Brewery in Nashville. I have been enjoying their beer for a couple of years now and decided it was time to see where it all goes down.
I won’t tell you too much because you should really go see for yourself.
Tours are on Saturdays from 2:30-6:30 once an hour.
(Had to borrow this one because I forgot to take an outside pic)
The friends.
Our tour guide was Seth and he was informative and funny with a dry sense of humor. The employees get to drink responsibly while they give tours. How awesome is that?
The brewery was named after the Yazoo River in Mississippi which is where (if memory serves me correctly) the owners met and fell in love <3. Sweet.
We learned about barley and hops.
We got to see the machines where the beer is made, bottled and labeled.
Most importantly we sampled.
My personal favorites are their: Dos Perros, Pale Ale and Hop Project. The tour didn’t change that but it was nice to taste some others as well.
Then we sampled some more. Plus, we got some really cute glasses to take with us and since cute glasses are the reason everyone goes on brewery tours, it was a success
All for $7! I would recommend this tour to any beer lover, enthusiast or anyone interested in how things are made.
Their process (they still do new/experimental batches in their original home brew equipment) and the minimal number of people they employ is impressive.
Afterward, I decided to use what I had learned. Naturally.
I am a big fan of beer bread. If you’ve never had it, it is dense and heavy sort of like a bagel.
It takes no other liquid ingredients besides the beer. The most important ingredient! I used Hop Project.
No eggs either! Additionally, it doesn’t have to rise or wait or any of that “baker” stuff that I have little talent for.
All you have to do is combine dry ingredients and make a well.
Saute onion, garlic and shallot and add them to the dry ingredients.
Then add cheese and beer (watch the fun fizzle).
You could add all kinds of things to it: bacon, jalapenos-just to name a few.
Put it in a loaf pan. And Bake!
This isn’t the type of bread you might want to make a sandwich with but it is the type you would want to dip in a soup or chili. It’s a good replacement when you want a break from cornbread. Even though the beer has all baked out you can really taste it. So, if you don’t like beer…..then what’s wrong with you!?!?
Thanks Yazoo. We shall return!
YAZOO BEER BREAD
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 small onion, finely diced
1 small shallot, finely diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
5 twists of freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup cheese, shredded ( i used Monterrey jack, you could also use cheddar)
1 Yazoo Hop Project beer (or your favorite beer)
Instructions and directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small skillet over medium heat, cook the diced onion and shallot until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one more minute.
In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and sugar.
Make a well in the dry ingredients. Add sauteed onions, cheese and beer and stir to combine. Don’t over mix.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter.
Pour dough into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Evenly pour butter over the top of the dough in the pan.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter.
Remove bread from oven. Evenly pour butter over top of the bread and bake for 20-25 more minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool.
The Hungry Apple 