I decided to do something a little different, a feature story about beer in general, focusing on Memphis’ beer scene.
Beer is one of mankind’s oldest inventions, dating back to about the fifth millennium, B.C. One of the oldest surviving recipes is the Hymn to Ninkasi, a recipe for beer that also honors the Mesopotamian goddess of brewing, Ninkasi. The Mesopotamians, in fact, had no less than three goddesses devoted to beer—Ninkasi, Siris, who appeared as a demon and was basically a personification of beer and Siduri, who covered the enjoyment of beer. Some historians believe that bread and beer—both grain-based food products—go hand in hand. Case in point, the Mesopotamians used a twice-baked barley bread specifically for brewing called bappir. Beer in these days was more of a thin gruel, packed with nutrients and morale-boosting alcohol.
From Mesopotamia it spread throughout the ancient world. Any place that had a significant amount of grain in their diet made beer. The Greeks enjoyed it, but the Romans preferred wine. Outside of Italy, however, in places where grape cultivation was difficult or impossible, it was a hit. Hops were added in the 9th century, and the recipe was eventually perfected in (of course) Bohemia, home of the Pilsner, named after the Czech city of Plzeň and arguably the most popular type of beer in the world.
Beer had been brewed in America by Native Americans, and during the age of exploration and colonization, more complex styles were created by independent breweries. Prohibition curtailed brewing in the United States, and what beer that was made was watered down—supposedly why many Americans prefer weaker beers. Beyond that, consolidation of major breweries into national conglomerates and massive advertisement campaigns led to the mass-production and mass-marketing of America’s trademark much-maligned (Yet much-adored) pale lagers—“intercourse in a canoe,” as the old joke goes.
Though prohibition was repealed in 1933, the nature of how laws work in the US meant that many states still had blue laws—and Tennessee was no exception. Laws against restaurants brewing beer were on the books until 1992. When those laws were repealed, it didn’t take long for Tennessee’s first brewpub to show up.
“Boscos, The Restaurant for Beer Lovers” opened its doors on Dec. 26, 1992, in the former home of the Bombay Bicycle Club at Overton Square. Since then it’s won a slew of awards and national recognition for its variety of high-quality craft beers, about 60 in total, including the Flaming Stone “steinbier,” made by lowering heated stones into the beer while it’s being brewed, and which won the silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2005.
Beyond opening the doors for craft breweries in Memphis, Boscos also played an important part in revitalizing the Overton Square area. Up until recently, it was a depressed area in an already depressed city. Now, the Overton Square area boasts a number of quality restaurants and bars.
Boscos opened the floodgates, and one of Memphis’ best breweries came right through. Ghost River Brewing was set up in 2008. Their claim to fame is that they use water from the Memphis Sands Aquifer, and donate a portion of the profits from every barrel sold to the Wolf River Conservancy, which makes sure that the Wolf River is environmentally sound. They brew three beers year-round, the Riverbank Red, which won the silver medal at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival, the 1887 IPA and a Golden Ale, which remains one of the best beer I’ve ever had (That it was given to me free of charge on a sweltering hot summer’s day probably helped matters along.) They also have three seasonal beers—Midnight Magic, which is a dark beer, similar to a porter or a stout, Witbier, a Belgian-style wheat beer and an Oktoberfest style.
A recent development in Memphis’ beer scene has been the opening of several taprooms around the city, such as the Wiseacre Taproom, the High Cotton Taproom and the newly-opened Memphis Made Taproom. These establishments allow beer drinkers to explore Memphis’ beer culture and learn about what they’re drinking directly from the people who made the beer.
The Wiseacre Taproom was the first to be opened in Memphis in 2013. The Bartosch brothers, Davin and Kellan, brew three year-round beers—Ananda IPA, Tiny Bomb Pilsner and Tarasque Saison—as well as a number of unique seasonal beers, such as a barleywine called Frostbeard, a Belgiue D’epoque called Holy Candy and an Oktoberfest-style beer. They supply a number of great restaurants and bars in the area, including Hog and Hominy, one of the best restaurants in the city.
2014 saw two new taprooms open, the first of which was High Cotton’s taproom in the Edge District. High Cotton brews a number of great beers, including a Saison, a Scottish Ale, an “ESB” (Extra Special Bitters, similar to a pale ale,) a porter and a Biere de Garde, a type of French farmhouse ale that was typically brewed in the winter months and meant to last through summer.
The second was Memphis Made’s taproom in the Cooper-Young area, which opened its doors on Nov. 21. Founded by Andy Ashby and Drew Barton in 2013, Memphis Made is relatively new to Memphis’ beer scene, but it has already established itself as one of its best and most prolific breweries. Their only year-round beer, Lucid Kolsch, is a great, German-style ale that goes well with just about everything, and though I haven’t tried their fall offering, Fireside Ninja, I’m looking forward to doing so. Beyond those two, they produce a number of seasonal beers, including the Bear Cat IPA (Which was excellent and one of the best IPAs I’ve had) and the Soulful Ginger Saison (Which was even better.)
Memphis had a late start to the craft brewing scene, and for a while Memphis’ beer culture was dominated by two big breweries. But that’s starting to change, and with that change has come some impressive stuff, very quickly. Memphis has long been a destination for all thing gastronomical, and the burgeoning craft beer scene is just one more aspect of that.
Bluff City Brews 