NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
Downtown across from Hard Rock Café and within walking distance to the Tennessee Titans football stadium, BIG RIVER GRILLE opened around ’93 (and visited August ’08). A red neon sign and brown-tan awning lead patrons into spacious red brick-walled sportsbar. Redwood furnished dining areas surround central bar (with two widescreen TV’s and glass-enclosed brew tanks).
Light Americana food goes well with low hop-profiled beers such as tangy apple-peach-fronted, mildly orange peel-embittered, phenol-hopped 16th Avenue Pilsner, yellow-fruited honey-malted corn-sweetened maize-dried Southern Flyer Light Lager, and honey-fruited spice-hopped corn-buttered Nashville Steamer Golden Ale.
Mild orange-bruised tangerine tartness picked up soft hop astringency vaporizing vanilla-cocoa sweetness of Summer Wheat.
Fine medium-bodied alternatives came next. Dry Cascade-hopped, orange-peach-pear-quince-sequenced Thick Brick Red Ale revealed deep wood tones. Caramel-chocolate-malted honey-roasted peanut-finishing Sweet Magnolia American Brown Ale gained floral-hopped nicety. Chocolate-sweet hop-roasted vanilla-extracted cappuccino-milked Iron Horse Stout made fine dessert treat.