Beer & Bacon Festival
November 3, 201633 Books Cider Product Line
December 3, 2016Not often do we get to go into Nashville’s neck of the woods to enjoy an event. And not often do we go to an event where we get to pig out of fried foods, but, as they say, every dog has his day (in this case, pig). Last week, we were able to enjoy Nissan Stadium’s Beer & Bacon Festival, an event hosted by Cannonball Productions. If you were curious, Nissan Stadium is, indeed, home to the Tennessee Titans. So, in the truest sense, let’s pass the pig skin, eat the same thing, and see what you were missing.
Sprawled across the entire stadium concourse, we were able to sample local brews, bacon, ciders, and fresh food with a pork-y twist. This event was very beer heavy, with the exception of Bold Rock Cider and Sonoma Cider. We attempted to get additional cideries to participate, but it was late in the game. We are anticipating a larger presence in the future, as we will actively recruit cideries to participate more in the Nashville market. Even if the cider wasn’t flowing at this event, the food was phenomenal.
The food offerings were (Our favorites were highlighted):
12 South Taproom: Bacon and Gouda Mac n Cheese
240sweet: Happy Hour on a Stick
Back Alley Diner: Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
Bao Down: Bacon Fried Rice
Bare Naked Bagel: Bagel Chip w/ Bacon Horseradish Cream Cheese, Pork Belly Pastrami, and Caramalized Onions
Butchertown Hall: Smoked/Braised Pork Belly
Chago’s Cantina: Braised Pork Belly topped with Jalapeño Slaw, Honey and Chile
Chocolate F/X: Hog Heaven Bacon Toffee and Bacon Caramels
Farm Burger: Moonshine Bacon-Local Apple Marmalade, Noble Springs Goat Cheese, Local Arugula, Corn Cake
Fido: Enchilada
Homegrown Taproom & Marketplace: Homegrown Bacon Popcorn
Hormel®: Black Label® Bacon
Roscoe’s Smoked Bar-B-Q: Loaded Fries topped with Hickory Smoked Pulled Pork
Salted Table Co: Bacon Gougeres w/ Chipotle Chocolate Ganache
Sloco: Sweet Bacon Goodness
Tenn Sixteen: Beer Braised Pork Cheeks w/ Cherry Bacon Jam
Tin Roof: Candy Pig Mac N’ Cheese
Tom + Chee: BBQ + Bacon!
Urban Cookhouse: Bacon Broccoli Salad
Valentino’s Ristorante: Porchetta Bruschetta
The nature of this event was “local”. The food, the location, the beer, even the cider, as locally grown as you can get. Being is Nashville full-time, I had the opportunity to speak with some of my favorite breweries while tasting food from restaurants I have yet to make it to. If nothing else, this was the mall food court of events, and we were in love. Love at first site? No, love at first bite. I haven’t been able to eat this well at any event I’ve attended. And, honestly, we don’t need to ramble on more since this wasn’t cider heavy. But, we cross our heart, that we will build the cider presence if given the opportunity next year and be excited for those salty treats!
One final note about this event: they go all across the US and Canada, so the event shifts, changes, and alters based off the locale. So, maybe you are luckier than us and the cider force was with you!