Fall in Alabama is practically a holiday. It’s a tradition handed down through generations of tailgates, fight songs, and family recipes that only come out when there’s a game on. The first home games still feel like Summer, with tents going up in Tuscaloosa and on the Plains in Auburn before the sun is fully up, and by 10 a.m. the cooler is doing the heaviest lifting of anyone at the tailgate. Then somewhere around late October the mornings turn crisp, and by the time the Iron Bowl arrives in late November you might actually need that jacket you’ve been carrying around. Yazoo Brewing Company has a beer for every stretch of that season. The Hefeweizen, Daddy-O Pilsner, and Gerst Amber Ale cover you from opening kickoff to rivalry week, whichever colors you're wearing.
Why Yazoo
Yazoo started with a homebrewer’s dream. Founder and brewmaster Linus Hall loved making beer so much that he opened Nashville’s first production brewery since Prohibition, pouring his first kegs out of the historic Marathon Motor Works building in October 2003. More than two decades later, Yazoo is still fully independent, owned by Linus and Lila Hall. Linus can still be found in the production facility most days of the week. That hands-on care shows up in every can, and it’s why these three beers have earned a place in coolers all across the Southeast.
Yazoo Hefeweizen (Hefe)
Yazoo’s own brewers call the Hefeweizen the perfect summer beer, which makes it exactly right for early football in Alabama, when “fall” is more of a date on the calendar than a temperature. It’s an authentic Bavarian-style wheat beer brewed mostly with wheat malt and a true hefeweizen yeast. It’s the kind of beer that has earned its reputation. It took home medals at the Great American Beer Festival in both 2004 and 2012. At 5.4% ABV and 17 IBUs, it’s bright and easygoing enough to carry you through a noon kickoff in the heat.
Aroma: ripe banana with a light hint of clove.
Flavor: soft, bready wheat with gentle fruitiness and a smooth, hazy body.
Finish: tart and refreshing, which is exactly what you want when the thermometer reads 90.
Pair it with: Conecuh sausage straight off the grill, lemon pepper wings, or a platter of grilled Gulf shrimp.
Yazoo Daddy-O Pilsner
Some beers are simply made for football and Daddy-O is one of them. It’s named in honor of Linus Hall’s grandad, Parker “Bullet” Hall, known to his grandkids as “Daddy-O.” He was an All-American at Ole Miss and in 1939 became the first NFL player to earn Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. An SEC legend on the label makes it an easy pick for the game you’ve had circled since the schedule came out.
What's inside lives up to the name. Daddy-O is brewed with pilsner and Vienna malts, a touch of flaked corn, and a blend of classic and new American hops. At 5.6% ABV and 28 IBUs, it has the most hop character of the three while staying crisp and easy to drink.
Aroma: fresh bread crust with bright, floral hops.
Flavor: crisp and clean, with a little extra malt backbone from the Vienna malt and a light body from the corn.
Finish: dry, with a snappy hop bite that resets your palate between bites.
Pair it with: smoked chicken dunked in Alabama white sauce, the tangy, peppery mayo-based sauce born in North Alabama. A crisp pilsner cuts right through the richness. It's just as good alongside a rack of hickory-smoked ribs.
Yazoo Gerst Amber Ale
When the air finally turns and November night games start calling for sweatshirts, it’s time for something with a little more color. Gerst Amber Ale is a genuine piece of Southern brewing history. The original Gerst Brewery was Nashville’s first, but it never recovered after Prohibition. Yazoo partnered with the Chandler family, owners of Nashville’s Gerst Haus restaurant, to bring the beer back, staying as close as possible to the original recipe with mostly German malts and a hint of flaked maize.
At 4.9% ABV and just 13 IBUs, Gerst is the most laid-back beer in this lineup, making it a smart choice for a long rivalry-week tailgate that starts at breakfast and ends well after the final whistle.
Aroma: toasted bread and light caramel.
Flavor: smooth and clean, with gentle malt sweetness and a soft, rounded body.
Finish: quick and crisp, with very little bitterness.
Pair it with: pulled pork sliders from a slow-smoked Boston butt, a pot of game-day chili, or a paper sack of warm boiled peanuts.
One Season, Three Yazoos
Alabama football season is a long, glorious stretch. Start with the Hefeweizen while it’s still hot, bring out the Daddy-O for the biggest games on the schedule, and settle into Gerst when the leaves finally start to turn. All three come in cans that are easy to pack, easy to share, and easy to find at your favorite Alabama retailer.
