Beer in Memphis
I decided to do something a little different, a feature story about beer in general, focusing on Memphis’ beer scene.
memphis
What to Drink in Fall
Autumn is upon us, and with it cooler temperatures and darker days. So what are you supposed to drink during fall?
Someone Left the Beer Out In the Rain
A couple of cool beer events are scheduled for Saturday…which might be problem because Saturday is expected to be wet but not necessarily wild.
The CY Beerfest is slated for Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Beerfest’s organizers will be putting up tents to keep patrons dry, but if you’ve had the foresight to buy a ticket to the long-sold out event, make sure to bring an umbrella anyway.
For those willing to brave the rain but who didn’t get a ticket to the Beerfest, Bally’s Casino will be holding Oktoberfest Squared at 2092 Trimble Ave from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday. It’s a little more “corporate”–the major beer sponsor is Sam Adams who will be bringing their Oktoberfest beer–but it’s free. A bunch of bands will be at the event, like Deering & Down, 2 Mule Plow and an actual Oompah band, the Sauerkraut Six. There’s also going to be a stein-holding competition at 7:30 p.m. and they’ll be giving away a trip to Boston to visit the Sam Adams brewery.
Or you can stay indoors, head out to the Wiseacre taproom at 2783 Broad Ave, and try out their brand new Holy Candy, a Belgian Dubble brewed with figs. If you can’t make it to the taproom, well, stay at home and drink the beer in your fridge–Holy Candy should be in stores pretty soon. Either way, there’s a lot of stuff to do on a rainy Saturday.
BeerQuest: A Story in Pictures
I did a beer-related scavenger hunt. Here it is on Storify.
Q&A With Wiseacre’s Ariana Glantz
Since 2013 Wiseacre Brewing has been brewing some of the finest beers in Memphis. They produce three year-round beers—Ananda IPA, the excellent Tiny Bomb American Pilsner and their newest creation, the Terrasque saison, as well as six specialty beers produced for special occasions. Wiseacre’s dedication to their craft is matched only by their dedication to the Memphis area, and they’re a fixture at local events and festivals. Saturday will see their 2nd annual Oktoberfest celebration. They just finished a big expansion of their production facilities and look set to keep growing. I talked with Wiseacre’s Ariana Glantz about Wiseacre’s past, present and future.
Q: What was the impetus behind setting up shop in Memphis?
A: The Bartosch brothers (our founders and owners), Davin and Kellan, are from Memphis and their dream has always been to set-up a brewery in Memphis that can take advantage of the beautiful soft water Memphis has. It actually pretty closely matches the water quality of Pils, Czech Republic, hence why one of our year-round beers is a Pilsner. There are only 4 ingredients in beer and since water is a pretty crucial ingredient, it’s important to start with quality water. It also doesn’t hurt that Memphis is ripe for a craft brewery culture and people have been more than receptive and excited about some quality brews in their backyard.
Q: Why bring Oktoberfest to Memphis?
A: Why not bring Oktoberfest to Memphis? Oktoberfest is a great Bavarian tradition of celebrating the upcoming fall harvest and what’s a better way than to do so by drinking to the crop’s health? Ein Prosit! Here at WISEACRE we want to make sure that we are able to give good exposure to not only different styles of beers (like Berline Weisse, Tea IPA, Coffee Milk Stouts) but also events that allow people to celebrate beer. Oktoberfest is also the best venue to drink the Oktoberfest style beer!
Q: Can you go into more detail about the Oktoberfest event?
A: Our Oktoberfest is meant to be a celebration open to everyone! No cover – we want you to come here and feel welcomed. Hopefully your friends don’t charge you cover when you go to their house! We are pumped to have Andy and Michael from Hog & Hominy cooking up beautiful grilled items and Bea Sweet Bakery will be providing German inspired desserts. The Mighty Souls Brass Band will also be playing polkaesque music to get people in the auf Deutch mindset. We are opening at 11 so people can take full advantage of the day! And discounts for wearing German garb and bringing in steins!
Q: What other events do you have planned?
A: Events kind of come into course organically but we just celebrated our 1st birthday a few weeks ago! And in the spring we will be having Taste the Rarity 2.0 which is a beer invitational. Last year’s inaugural Taste the Rarity brought 18 breweries from all over the US and we had about 350 people come out and enjoy the day.
Q: Is there any new beer on the horizon you can tell me about?
A: Coming up we have a Belgian Trippel, an American Stout, a Tea infused IPA and a Coffee Milk Stout! All beers to deliciously match the oncoming cooler weather.
Q: What are you most proud of at Wiseacre?
A: Well I don’t think I can speak for all of WISEACRE but I’m super proud of the way Memphis has responded. We’ve been able to triple our production in the first year, which is a little nuts! It’s also super beautiful to see people really taking to beer as a conversation and a place for discussion – you don’t have to like every beer but it’s awesome to be able to talk about it and make decisions. Much like the people coming in saying they only drink Bud Light/white wine/rum and then you introduce them to a few different styles and they’re in the Taproom every weekend. It’s great to see a beer culture really starting to form in Memphis and we can only hope that it continues to be fun – it’s just beer! No need to get serious.
Q: What’s in the future for Wiseacre?
A: Great question. We’ll let you know when we get there!
So there you have it. Wiseacre has seen stupendous growth over the past few years, and they look to just get bigger. They have some fantastic looking stuff coming over the horizon. I can’t wait to sample some!
Wiseacre’s Oktoberfest will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Wiseacre’s brewery at 2783 Broad Ave. There’ll be food from Be Sweet Bakery, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen and Hog and Hominy and polka music by Mighty Souls Brass Band. Wiseacre will be serving the last few kegs of Uncle Puppy Hefeweizen, Dr. Gibbler Smoked Helles, Schweinhelmüt Berliner Weisse and Young Turk Pale Bock along with the Oktoberfest beer they’ve made for the event. If you happened to have a spare pair of lederhosen or a dirndl, you could get $1 off your beer purchases if you wear it out.
Choose901TV’s Video About Wiseacre
Bluff City Brews 