More Than a Brewery Tour: How the Music City Brewhop Gets You Around Nashville for $25
- musiccitybrewhop
- Aug 12
- 10 min read
Ask most people what Music City Brew Hop is, and you'll get the same answer every time: it's a brewery tour. Hop on, hop off, drink some beer, hop back on. And sure, that's true. But if you zoom out for a second, the Brewhop is doing something else too - something a lot of visitors (and honestly, a lot of locals) miss entirely.
It's one of the cheapest, easiest ways to string together a day exploring some of Nashville's best neighborhoods without ever getting behind the wheel.
Think about what you're actually getting for the price of a couple of coffees at a Nashville hotel: a trolley that loops through East Nashville and Germantown, dropping you off in seven completely different pockets of the city, each with its own personality, its own food, and as we found out when we went looking, plenty to do within a short walk of every single stop. You're not just brewery hopping. You're neighborhood hopping.
And right now, through Labor Day 2026, it's about as cheap as a day out in this city gets: normal tickets run $49, but every Sunday you can ride for just $25. Kids ages 0–12 ride for $10, and yes, the whole thing is dog-friendly too. So we decided to actually map it out. What's at each stop, and what's within walking distance of it, to make the case for why the Brewhop deserves a spot on your Nashville itinerary even if you don't drink a drop of beer.
How the Loop Actually Works
Before we get into the neighborhoods, a quick primer for anyone who hasn't ridden with us yet. The Brewhop isn't a sit-on-the-trolley-and-look-out-the-window kind of tour. It's hop-on, hop-off: the trolley drops you at a stop, you've got about an hour to explore before it swings back around, and then you either hop back on or stay put and catch the next loop whenever you're ready. The trolley runs on an hour-long route, so you're never waiting too long.
There are seven stops on the current loop, and they cluster into distinct little neighborhood pockets which is exactly why this works so well as a "see the city" tool and not just a "drink beer" tool. Let's walk through each one.
Stop Cluster 1: East Nashville's Five Points Pocket
Three of our stops, Honeytree Meadery, Stoke Haus Brewing & BBQ, and the Douglas Ave pocket we'll get to in a second, all sit within a few blocks of each other in the Woodland Street / Main Street corridor of East Nashville, sometimes called Five Points. This is genuinely one of the most walkable clusters on the whole loop, and it's worth knowing that if you get off at one stop, you're basically within reach of the others on foot too.
Honeytree Meadery anchors this pocket on Woodland Street. It's known for its mead (obviously), its rotating seasonal offerings, and the permanent Bad Luck Burger Club food truck parked outside serving up burgers and famously good tater tots. It's a East Nashville institution - the kind of spot where you'll find live music, trivia nights, and a backyard genuinely built for lingering.
Step outside and you don't have to go far to fill an hour. East Park is about two blocks up Woodland Street, and it's a genuinely well-loved neighborhood park. Reviewers rave about the playground, which has Spanish and sign-language signage built into the play structures so kids are learning while they climb, plus a rubberized surface for safer falls. If you're traveling with a toddler and the weather isn't cooperating, Woodland Play Cafe is even closer, tucked right on the same block. It's an indoor play café with a coffee counter for the grown-ups and a genuinely thoughtful play space for little ones, down to kid-height sinks and toilets.
A few minutes' walk away on Main Street sits Stoke Haus Brewing & BBQ, which has quickly become known for pulled pork, ribs, and a beer list that holds its own against the barbecue. If your crew has older kids, there's a small video game setup inside that'll keep them occupied while the adults work through a flight. And if you're craving something sweet after all that brisket, East Creamery on Fatherland Street is a short walk away with a big rotating flavor list (bourbon crunch and salted caramel get a lot of love in the reviews).
For families specifically, though, the real find in this pocket is BoomBozz Craft Pizza & Taphouse on Russell Street. It's not one of our official stops, but it's an easy walk from both Honeytree and Stoke Haus, and it has an honest-to-goodness playground built right into its outdoor patio. More than one reviewer mentions ordering pizza and salad and just letting the kids loose on the playground while the parents relax on the patio which, frankly, sounds like the entire point of a good neighborhood spot.
Stop Cluster 2: The Douglas Ave Pocket
A little further up the loop, Xul Beer Co. (now running the Southern Grist East Nashville location on Douglas Avenue) gives you a completely different flavor of East Nashville. Xul recently took over the beloved Southern Grist spot and has kept the food program that made it a neighborhood favorite - burgers, fries, and a rotating beer list that leans into sours and hazy IPAs.
Right across the street from Xul Beer Co. is Garage Sale Bar - a full bar and vintage clothing & goods store worth crossing the street for. Even more, Garage Sale Bar is a part of Highland Yards - an upscale East Nashville mall featuring shops, foods, and even a spa.
Walking distance here is genuinely walking distance: East Nashville Cream & Bean, an ice cream and coffee shop, sits right on Douglas Avenue too. It's a small, family-run spot that reviewers consistently point to as a warm, welcoming stop. The kind of place where the owner remembers your order and your dog gets a treat along with your sundae.
Stop 3: East Nashville Beer Works. A Destination of Its Own
Not every stop on the loop needs a cluster of nearby amenities to be worth the visit, and East Nashville Beer Works on Trinity Lane is a good example. It sits a little more on its own geographically, but it more than makes up for it by being basically a built-in family destination. The wood-fired pizza and beer-cheese nachos get consistent praise, live music is a regular fixture, and this is the big one for families. There's a dedicated outdoor play area for kids built right into the patio, so parents can relax with a pint while the kids run around a few feet away.
Stop 4: Tailgate East Nashville and the Gallatin Ave Corridor
Tailgate East Nashville sits on Gallatin Avenue, a little further out from the Five Points cluster, and it earns its spot on the loop with a genuinely broad menu - pizza, fried favorites, sandwiches, and a sweet tea that regularly gets called out in reviews as better than it has any right to be. The beer list here leans experimental too, with sours and fruited wild ales showing up alongside more traditional styles.
This stop's nearby options are a bit more of a "quick ride than a walk" situation Shelby Park, with its Red Park playground, and Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream on Eastland Avenue are both close to a mile out. Doable if you've got older kids who don't mind stretching their legs, or if you're planning to linger in this part of town beyond your hour at Tailgate, but not a quick pop-over. Worth flagging in the interest of setting expectations - not every stop on the loop needs to be a five-minute walk from a playground to be worth building a day around.
Stop Clusters 5 & 6: Germantown - Bearded Iris and Monday Night Brewing
The last two stops on the loop take you across the river to Germantown, one of Nashville's fastest-growing neighborhoods and a completely different vibe from the East Nashville stretch. Bearded Iris Brewing on Van Buren Street is known for its Homestyle IPA - a beer that's built enough of a following that visitors have been known to try to smuggle cases home in their carry-ons plus a spacious patio that regularly hosts a rotating barbecue food truck.
A short walk away, Monday Night Brewing's Preservation Co. location on Adams Street occupies a beautifully repurposed old building with a beer garden that backs right up to the river. It's got ample indoor and outdoor seating, and unlike some of our other stops, they welcome outside food which matters in a neighborhood like Germantown where there's no shortage of great pickup options on your way in the door. Families frequently make an afternoon of it here on nice weekends, dogs included.
Between the two, Morgan Recreation Center on Hume Street is an easy walk, a genuine neighborhood park with a playground, basketball court, and swings, the kind of unassuming spot that turns a brewery stop into a full afternoon if you've got kids who need to burn off energy between pints.
Why This Matters Beyond the Beer
Here's the thing that struck us mapping all of this out: Nashville's neighborhoods don't always talk to each other easily. East Nashville and Germantown are separated by the river and a genuinely inconvenient drive if you're relying on rideshare pricing during a busy weekend. Parking in either neighborhood on a Saturday is its own adventure. And if you're visiting with kids, figuring out logistics across multiple neighborhoods in a single day usually means renting a car, navigating unfamiliar streets, and hoping you can find parking near whatever you actually want to see.
The Brewhop sidesteps all of that. For $25 on a Sunday (or $49 any other day), you get a full day of transportation between two of Nashville's most distinct neighborhoods, with built-in stops that double as jumping-off points for parks, playgrounds, ice cream, and pizza that have nothing to do with beer at all. You could genuinely spend a Sunday hopping the loop with kids in tow, hitting a playground at every other stop, and never once worry about where to park.
That's really the pitch here: the Brewhop was built as a brewery tour, but it works just as well as a neighborhood-hopping day pass. Whether you're a Nashville local who's never actually explored Five Points on foot, or a visiting family trying to see more than one part of the city without renting a car, the trolley does the hard part for you.
What a Day on the Loop Could Actually Look Like
It's easy to talk about all of this in the abstract, so let's put it together as an actual day, the way a family might ride it.
You start the morning at Honeytree Meadery, but instead of heading straight for a mead flight, you swing two blocks up to East Park first and let the kids run off some energy on the playground while everyone wakes up. Back at Honeytree, the grown-ups grab a mead and the kids get tots from Bad Luck Burger Club before you catch the next trolley.
Next stop, Stoke Haus Brewing & BBQ. Lunch is barbecue — ribs for the table, and if your kids are a little older, they can hang out at the video game setup while you finish a flight. If anyone's still got room, it's a short walk to East Creamery for a scoop before you head back to the stop.
From there, you loop over to East Nashville Beer Works on Trinity Lane. This is where you let the kids loose on the built-in play area while you settle in with a wood-fired pizza and a pint.
By early afternoon, you're crossing the river into Germantown. Bearded Iris is the adults' stop this round maybe you trade off with a partner, one of you inside enjoying a Homestyle IPA while the other walks the kids over to Morgan Recreation Center for a round on the swings. Then it's a short walk to Monday Night Brewing, where you've got room to spread out on the riverside patio, and since they welcome outside food, you can grab something from one of the pickup spots in the neighborhood on your way over instead of relying on brewery snacks alone.
By the time the trolley loops back around to pick you up for the last time, you've covered two neighborhoods, hit four breweries, two playgrounds, and an ice cream stop, and the only thing you had to figure out was which trolley stop to get off at next. No parking, no rideshare surge pricing, no arguing about who's driving.
The Cost Math Is Hard to Beat
It's worth sitting with the actual math on this for a second, because it's easy to undersell just how good a deal the Brewhop is once you start comparing it to the alternative. A day of rideshares between East Nashville and Germantown - accounting for surge pricing on a weekend, which is close to a guarantee in this city - can easily run $15–25 each way, per group, per stop. String together four or five stops across two neighborhoods and you're looking at well over $100 in transportation alone before you've spent a dime on food or drinks, plus the time spent waiting on cars that may or may not show up promptly.
Compare that to $25 for an entire day of unlimited stops on a Sunday, or $49 any other day of the week, with kids riding for $10. It's not just cheaper — it's a fundamentally different kind of day. You're not budgeting your movement around the city; you're just going.
Planning Your Day
A few practical notes if you're building your own route:
Tickets are $49 any day, or $25 on Sundays through Labor Day 2026. Kids ages 0–12 ride for $10. If you're travelling with a group then give us a call for a discount!
The loop runs on roughly an hour-per-stop timing — the trolley drops you off, gives you time to explore, and swings back around.
Dogs are welcome at every stop and on the trolley itself, so don't leave the pup at home. Dogs are also welcome on our walking tour - The Hop Walk!
If you're building a family day, the East Nashville cluster (Honeytree, Stoke Haus, and the walk over to BoomBozz) is the most densely packed with kid-friendly extras within a short walk. Germantown is a close second thanks to Morgan Recreation Center sitting between Bearded Iris and Monday Night.
If you're chasing a specific event, keep an eye on East Nashville Beer Works — Augustfest lands there on August 1st this year, and it's exactly the kind of stop worth planning a whole visit around. If you want to learn more about Nashville events along the Brewhop loop - sign up for the Music City Brew Hop bi-weekly newsletter.
However you build your day, the beauty of the hop-on, hop-off format is that there's no wrong way to do it. Get off wherever looks interesting, wander a block or two, and trust that the trolley will be back around before too long. That's the whole point.
Ready to plan your route? Book your Brewhop tickets here and start mapping out your own neighborhood-hopping day.
Comments