On any given Friday, you can catch me in the Nations at Southern Grist. Sometimes I'll enjoy a stout, or maybe a hop water (when I'm on the clock!), but no matter what I'm drinking, there's always going to be a burger involved!
Southern Grist is known for its boundary-pushing beers, but they didn't overlook the food menu! L by Lauter brings an ever-rotating menu that changes with the seasons.
L By Lauter Chef Andrew Coins has been with Southern Grist for about 2.5 years, and he told me how their food philosophy developed.
"When we opened, we knew that it needed to be something that was kind of for everybody," Coins said. "There are a lot of families that come to this side, kids. So we wanted to make sure that there was something for everybody, some kind of 'down to Earth' kind of food, but we still wanted to make sure there were some interesting components to each dish as well."
Coins knows that their burger may not look like something special upon first glance. It's made with bacon, lettuce, and tomato. But when you peel apart the layers, there's a lot more going on.
What's inside?
They grind their bacon, and add sherry vinegar and sugar. 45-day dry-aged ground beef from Bear Creek Farm adds to the depth of flavor. They use the best greenhouse grown tomatoes they can find, and iceberg lettuce that's marinated in dill pickle juice.
The backstory
Kevin Antoon, Jamie Lee, and Jared Welch met in the corporate world. Their weekends spent homebrewing quickly evolved when they shed their business attire and decided to go all in–opening a 430 square foot brewery in East Nashville with a modest seating area. The doors opened in February of 2016 staffed by the three founders and their wives.
Year one was a roller coaster as they dialed in their brewing system, built out a taproom, and simply tried to keep up with growing demand. Within a year, they started looking for a larger space to brew and serve their beer.
On their two year anniversary, they opened their second taproom and 9,900 square foot production space in The Nations neighborhood, allowing for a massive production increase.
The beer
Southern Grist's beer is small-batch and experimental, and as a result it's usually not around for very long. They have beers we make again and again, but they don't have a flagship in any traditional sense, so if you find something you like - enjoy it while you can!
Their most common "series" include their Mixed Greens (a Double Dry Hopped New England IPA), Pity (a series of milk stouts), Hill (a base lactose sour ale with fruit purees and fun ingredients, originally named as a play on Berry Hill), and a 90s Double IPA series that's single hopped, oated, and brewed with only late hop additions. Look for puns on 90s TV shows names on the labels!
Non-alcoholic?
Southern Grist makes interesting, experimental, innovative, and occasionally weird beers... sometimes they have a lot of alcohol, sometimes a little, and now sometimes NONE.
They realized they could bring the same unique approach to the non-alcoholic market. In true Southern Grist fashion, don't expect the same non-alcoholic beverage every time they produce one, but you can count on quality.
One of my favorites is their Oasis Hop Water, with its slightly floral and bright citrusy flavors.
If you've got a favorite burger that you think I may have missed - email me at nathan.wilburn@newschannel5.com!
For more information, visit www.southerngristbrewing.com
