I too have to give Matt Leff and the rest of the organizers of the 12 South Winter Warmer beer festival major props for pulling off such a fun and well-executed event. I must disclose that Yelp was a sponsor for the East Nashville Beer Festival and hopped on board again for this event. Both events were sold out shortly after ticketing went live and as a professional event planner, I can tell you that this is not a simple feat! Although I have enjoyed working with Matt and crew, this review is based on being an attendee and not a sponsor. Sevier Park was filled with craft beer lovers, food trucks, booths, and excitement. I had a really great time checking out new brands such as Hat Trick Brewing (Neapolitan beer goodness from my hometown St. Louis!) or Stoudt's Company to my tried and true favorites that included our fair city's heroes Yazoo to Starr Hill. For $45 you get a commemorative sipping glass and access to try all of the brands on location. Food was also available throughout and included a few food trucks, 12 South Taproom, Burger Up and more. Some of of my favorite elements included the Halfbrass funky percussion band that weaved their way throughout the crowd and got the crowd going throughout the day. Informational sessions were on the scheduled that included learning more about craft beer, brewers, and more. A portion of the proceeds also went to The Workshop which is a free bike repair program for underprivileged youth. I look forward to attending next year! read more

MMMMM Beeeer! MMMMM Food Trucks! MMMMM Beeeeer! I almost don't want to write a review because I don't want other people knowing about this event. It sold out in 5 minutes this year! First of all, the breweries that attended definitely came to represent their awesome libations. As a huge fan of the wintery beers I was so glad to hear about the Warmer in 2012 and knew I had to go in 2013. I had porters, stouts, brandywines and several other types that lent towards keeping us warm during the freezing cold day. Mad props to the organizers for the tent which helped to keep us warm and dry. I also guarantee that even though there are only 1000 people there, you will see someone you know. MMMMM Beeeer! I was glad to see so many local Nashville breweries. Especially the newly opened TN Brew Works and the soon to be opened Little Harpeth Brewery. I always like to throw in parking tips. All I can say is, "People, take a cab!" Parking sucks at this park anyways and we don't want to drink and drive! The cab on over to the after party (which included a Warmer growler and fill) at Craft Brewed was cheap too. I did have to leave before the party got started here... Hope to see some reviews about the craziness that ensued there. Cheers to all who organized, participated and attended! read more

12 South Winter Warmer - Festivals Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

The best! This was with out a doubt the best beer festival in Nashville this year, closely followed by the East Nashville Beer Fest. A beautiful day, a good crowd, great people watching, but not too many people. You could easily navigate and you never had to wait too long for your next glass of brewed delight. Perfect vender to beer fan ratio! Great food venders, booths and a wonderful oompah / jazz band that set the fun tone for the day! I found more beers I had never heard of at this fest, most of which were from up and coming local brewers. It looks like Nashville has a lot of beer talent about to enter our market! Drinkers rejoice! A big thanks to Yelp and to the 12 South Winter Warmer Festival for an intoxicating ( with in reason ) day!! I can't wait Until the next one! read more

I cannot begin to say how much I enjoyed the 12th South Winter Warmer this year. From the beverage vendors, to the food vendors, retail vendors, and all the other ammentites, this festival would be a hard mountain to top as far as Nashville Beer Festivals go. First off, plan accordingly. If you want to go, there is no waiting around. You have to buy tickets as soon as they go on sale. I was online the minute they went on sale and the server crashed numerous times. I went as far as tweeting the promoters and had a link sent to me via twitter to buy tickets. The limit for tickets is two per purchaser, so have a team of people involved when purchasing. The event itself was so much fun. Since it was so cold outside, the event took place in a large tent. I appreciate the thoughtfulness in this because it wasn't too terriblely cold inside. They even laid out hay on the grounds because it was pretty muddy with all the rain the day before. The music was really good and there were plenty of bathrooms for the event. The best part of the Warmer is the beer and food. Some of the stand outs for the event were Jackaloupe, Lazy Magnolia, Smaltz Brewing, and Cool Springs Brewery. There were a lot of high gravity options so hydrate and eat as you sample. I was so happy to see Biscuit Love at the event. Kudos to Olive and Sinclair for the free chocolate samples as well. The Bourbon Brittle is too die for! Overall, I will be going again next year. It is just too much of a gem to miss! read more

I am writing this review from the perspective of a volunteer and it's STILL SO MUCH FUN! I didn't get tickets through "traditional means" (aka actually purchasing them), so I signed up to volunteer with my boyfriend. Luckily enough, we were stationed as pourers and it was a BLAST. I had never been to the Warmer before, but I loved it. I have been to a bunch of the others around town in the past few years, but I would definitely recommend this one (Even if you can only make it as a volunteer!) Volunteers on the first shift get into the second shift and volunteers for the second shift (which I was on) get to go to a fun party at a later date. It's still fun! There was live music and super nice people all around and cute hats that the volunteers must wear. GO WINTER WARMER! read more

I would vote this the best beer festival in Nashville this year. Enough bathrooms, enough food vendors, short waits, great beer selection, and good glasses to take home. Take a cab to avoid parking hassles. read more

I should probably tell you that I was on staff at this event and that the organizer is a good friend, but please don't let that affect your judgment of this review... I'm a harsh critic of everything, even friends. However this event was too perfect to judge harshly. Everything was perfect from the awesome winter friendly beer selection (which just so happens to be my favorite types of beers), to the brass band jamming, to the grilled cheese truck (and other eats), to the photo-booth donating their time to help the Oasis Center raise money, to the cute 6 oz beer tasting glass, to the hot Nashville men, to the lack of beer lines (the likes of which are never seen at Atlanta beer fest events). The only thing that wasn't great was how fucking cold it was, but I guess that is the price you pay when attending an outdoor event in December. read more

12 South Winter Warmer - Festivals Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

I don't know who thought of the brilliant plan to set up a beer festival in the winter, but you're a genius, good sir! Genius, I say! I was a little lost upon arriving at Sevier Park, but our cab driver was super patient with us and we eventually pulled up to the gate. We arrived early and waited with a few other anxious festival goers. Finally, in we went. Kind of early, but after a hearty breakfast of carbs, we were ready to soak up the beer! What was so great about this festival was the combination of nobody passing out from heat exhaustion or dehydration, and the fact that they had plenty of space for people to move around and enjoy good conversation over delicious beers. And the set-up of the tents in general was perfect - and a great selection of food trucks was readily available to soak up whatever breakfast didn't! It was small and enjoyable, and who doesn't love a good sampling of wintry beers? Boyfriend and I have marked out calendars for ticket sales for 2012! We are READY! read more

Hands down the best beer festival that I have ever been too! The organizers of this festival really knew what they were doing. The event was held at Sevier Park, which I had not been to before, but it was the perfect location. This festival was a festival for true die hard craft beer drinkers. Unlike other beer festivals, I don't think there were too many people here who's sole goal was to get smashed. People were there to enjoy delicious beer. And let me tell you, there was plenty of it to go around. Not only were there tons of different beers, there were food trucks, vendors and one of my favorite aspects, an awesome band. The band reminded me of a funky band you would find at a random bar in New Orleans. They spent the majority of the day weaving through the crowd playing some great tunes. I cant say that I tried all of the beers, but I tried a good majority of them. There were some that were not so great, but there were awesome, can we say Abita Vanilla Doubledog . It was so great that I rushed over to midtown liquors on Monday and bought every bottle they had on the shelf. Now I just need to figure out a way to ration this stuff out. The festival was a hit in my opinion and I cant wait to see what next year brings! read more

I feel almost bad writing this glowing review. I know so many people wanted to go to this and it sells out so quickly every year. You have to be ready to buy online the moment they go on sale or else you will not get a chance to attend. And it is just so much fun to go. My biggest recommendations are to to check the weather and dress appropriately (it's onside, one year it was frigid, this year it was like spring), and to take cabs. Parking it a pain and there are cops everyone (beer festival after all) so keep thse things in mind. Bring some cash for food trucks as well. You'll need food. And the beer...oh heavenly beer. Warming in the winter indeed. So many delicious coffee stouts and chocolate-y brews. Everything is rich, flavorful, inventive, exciting...the crowds inside the tent are worth the flavors you get to sample. So many delicious beers that I can hardly remember any thought but YUM. And really Nashville, you need more beer festivals in the winter. Summers here are too hot to be outside drinking heavily. You need to take a page from the 12 South playbook and have your festival in December or even January. I bet you'd get record attendance. This festival is so much fun, small, intimate, and great craft beers. I will be on my computer next year when tickets go on sale, anxiously hoping I am lucky enough to go again! read more

I was lucky to get tickets to this event as it sold out in a few hours. My wife and I went and we had a great time. There was a huge variety of beer to sample from seasonal Christmas Ales to Porters and IPAs. I even got some free swag and picked up a few tin signs on the cheap for my bar at home. Shirts could be ordered right inside the gate where they were being screen printed on-site. This event was not oversold like some of the other beer fests that I have attended, so there was little to no wait for beer. I will definitely try to get tickets for next year and the year after that and the year after that and the...... (you get the picture). This one should make Nashville proud. read more

Overall, a really well planned event. It was clear how much time and effort went into the event itself, and since I was a sober companion this year I remember everything... First of all, the ticket-buying process is a bit of a pain. I understand that Sevier park is small and I get why tickets are limited (get online quick to buy them - I mean QUICK, like the minute the clock hits ticket sale time). What I had a hard time understanding was the delay in making designated driver tickets available - I had my husband's ticket a good 6 weeks before I could buy mine, and I spent those 6 weeks not knowing if I would be able to attend with him. Once in line, designated driver ticket in hand, there was nothing to distinguish me from a full-price ticket holder. I got the same wristband, I was handed a glass. Lucky for them I'm clearly pregnant and wouldn't have drank to begin with, but they may want to think about tightening up the rules around DD vs. regular tickets to prevent abuse in the future. One more complaint until I'm on to the good stuff - it was a cold, cold day and the tent was bursting at the seams to contain the thousand plus people smushed inside. A few extra feet all around would have alleviated some of the space issues, but then again, so many bodies packed into a tight space kept the inside of the tent a good 20 degrees warmer than outside. Bathrooms were plentiful and somehow stayed clean, the variety of food available was excellent (no long lines at any of the food trucks in attendance), the brewers and staff seemed genuinely happy to be there, and from what I observed, there was no rowdiness or drunken stupid behavior as I've seen at other beer fests around town. The Winter Warmer is a class act all the way, and hopefully I won't be pregnant for next year's! read more

Sheer brilliance is the only way to describe this little slice of Heaven that descends to earth each year. My fiancé and I were fortunate enough to attend this year's shindig, and fortunate is the optimal word because this event sells out within mere minutes of being available online. Try to imagine the image of Valhalla you had when you first learned of it in your grade school readings of Norse mythology... now take out all those smelly warrior types and put some food trucks and a jazz band (Halfbrass) in their place and there you have it. Parking looked like a mess but I really wouldn't recommend driving to the event - there is too much delicious beer to enjoy. My recommendations: cab it or make a friend in the 12 South area exclusively for the purpose of spending the night following the event (yes, it was that good that one should form a friendship solely based on this event). We entered the gates and were given name tags and were greeted by a crew of volunteers directing us to tables with pens (to write our names), the food truck area, the greatest line of porta-potties to person ratio I have seen at any event (really good call for a beer tasting event) and finally the beer garden. My hat goes off to the organizers of this event and the volunteers. This was a perfectly run, perfectly coordinated event. Upon walking into the beer garden, one was greeted with the aroma of hops and fermented products wafting into the air. The massive tent holding at least 40 separate breweries stretching the length of a football field was filled with lively conversation as you went from brewery to brewery hearing about the different beers. Every brewer or employee was great to chat with depending on your liking of the beer they had just poured. There is something for every beer palette, and my single regret for the event/day was not having a card to mark off my thoughts on each of the beers so I could have them for future reference. However, now when we see some of the offerings at other locales such as Craft Brewed on 8th and Stone Fox we know exactly what we like. Mark this event on your calendars and make sure you get online early because you'll be competing against me and every other person who attended the event for a spot in next year's event. I haven't been to many beer tasting events in Nashville, but I'm willing to wager this is the best one in Nashville. read more

This was the best beer-oriented festival I have ever been to. I volunteered and the crowd was mature and enthusiastic. The tasting glasses were perfect and were excellent for sampling. The laid back atmosphere was much more fun than the typical wine tasting. So much of the money they made went to charity, so that made it even better. I'll be back next year! read more