Walking into the Nashville Municipal Auditorium basement to attend the Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival with four other friends, we felt like kids in a candy shop — only, this candy had a little bit more kick to it than your average warhead. For only $35, we scored VIP passes that allowed us a gluttonous afternoon of six hours of all we could drink beer and bourbon. With choices of 60 beers, 40 bourbons and an array of BBQ in the middle, the festival had everything a college boy or girl could dream of. Everything from top-shelf Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek to the to the less tasteful Miller Chill and MGD 64 made the cut.
Surprisingly, the event was packed right from the get-go. The VIP passes gave us an extra two hours of tasting (starting at noon instead of two p.m.) as well as a free XXL t-shirt (score!) and a tasting glass. The extra two hours seemed to attract a lot of people and from what I could tell most stayed until the close at six.
In between responsible swigs of fine bourbon washed town with the ever-refreshing cold beer, festival-goers could ride a mechanical bull (this of course got funnier and funnier as the day went on) or watch/participate in the beer belly competition. The winner of said competition boasted a belly five feet even in girth. You had to be there to believe it, and even the Daisy Duke girls had to measure it twice. There were also numerous drinking chants of “Olay, olay, olay, olay,” towards the end of the day. Additional drinking songs were really needed, but no one seemed to be able to think of one. (I wonder why?)
The only two knocks on the experience were the indoor location on such a beautiful Nashville Saturday afternoon and the deception that we were entitled to free BBQ tastings as well, which we were not. However, the latter turned out ok as it just encouraged us to take more advantage of what was free.
To the great failure of the Vanderbilt community, there was an unfortunate turn out of students. Versus highlighted this event in the listings of last week’s issue, again unveiling a hidden gem of Nashvegas. Next time you hear of a Beer, Bourbon and BBQ festival, or anything that resembles it, grab a ticket, your ID, and a tasting glass for an afternoon of grown-up fun.
