Cooper-Young Beerfest Turns Ten

When a group of dedicated volunteers started the Cooper-Young Beerfest in 2009, we didn’t know exactly what we were doing.

At the time, it was the dark ages of beer in Memphis, with only Ghost River and Boscos shedding any local light. People said Memphis wasn’t a good beer town, and there wasn’t much being done to change that.

We decided our beer festival would be a step in the right direction.

2015

That first year we put a few standards in place that we still hold to today. First, the festival, originally called the Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest, features only craft breweries within a day’s drive of Memphis.

This ensures that smaller regional breweries have a chance to attend and be seen.

2018

Second, each participating brewery has to send someone from their brewery to work the event. While many beer festivals have well-meaning volunteers, we want attendees to get more information when talking to a brewer, sales rep or even an owner from a smaller brewery.

Third, brewers are generous by nature, and knowing that their time and effort (and 100 percent of the festival profits) go to the Cooper-Young Community Association, a nonprofit organization, helps recruitment. We also strive to take care of visiting brewers, giving them lodging, free meals, gift bags, rideshares and a dedicated ABC-certified volunteer. Since they are driving a good distance, sometimes to talk about beer in a market in which they aren’t selling beer, we try our best to be good hosts and show them Memphis hospitality.

2018

Finally, although the festival has sold out almost every year ahead of time, we’ve limited the number of attendees to around 1,000. We could move to a larger space and sell more tickets, but we like to keep the lines short so that people have time to enjoy and learn about what they’re drinking.

2017

Mark Morrison, the festival chairman, has been part of the organizing committee since the beginning.

“It’s been fun to see this annual event grow from a ‘crazy idea’ to the 10th anniversary this year,” he said.

“The volunteers on the organizing committee work for about five months each year to produce the event, and the smiles and great reviews we get from both the attendees and the brewers make it totally worth it.”

2017

An altar call and a resurrection

The Cooper-Young Beerfest has had its history-setting moments for the local beer scene as well.

Ghost River Brewing Co. brought some of the first bottles of their Golden Ale to the festival in 2011. This was the first locally-brewed bottled beer Memphis had seen in years.

2018

The festival, then being held in a parking lot south of Galloway United Methodist Church, was going b already on that Saturday. Ghost River founding partner Chuck Skypeck was in the beer education tent when word spread through the festival that Ghost River had some of its long-anticipated bottles ready.

Chuck quickly found some inspiration, turning the bottle debut into an “altar call” straight out of a tent revival.

2015

The spirit seized Chuck as he lined the attendees up the middle aisle, Beerfest mugs in hands. Chuck filled the glasses of the craft beer adherents. Boscos bartenders opened fresh bottles as the cases were quickly drained. There was much rejoicing at the Cooper-Young Beerfest that day.

That was not the only beer debut in the festival’s history. In 2014, the festival saw another first taste of brewing history.

2015

The Tennessee Brewing Company of Memphis had brewed Goldcrest 51 for years in Memphis before finally shutting down in 1954. Kenn Flemmons helped bring the beer back to life.

The Arkansas author had found a recipe for Goldcrest 51 while researching his book Finest Beer You Ever Tasted, a paperback about the Tennessee Brewing Company.

Flemmons got in touch with Bill Riffle, then the head brewer at Vino’s brewpub in Little Rock. They brewed up a small batch of the Goldcrest 51 and served it to festival attendees. Memphis brewing history was brought back to life that day, followed by the brand being reestablished in 2015.

2016

People over beer

While beer has always been important at the festival, the real reason for the event is people.

Beerfest committee member Stephanie Gonzalez and her husband, Carlos, got to know their neighborhood better because of it.

2018

The couple moved to Cooper-Young in 2015, and two of the things they were most excited about were that Memphis Made Brewing Company was within walking distance and that the neighborhood had its very own beer festival.

“We made Friday nights at Memphis Made a regular occurrence and got friendly with one of the bartenders, Adam Frank,” Gonzalez said. “He and Carlos are both from Minnesota, so we’d chat about that or beer or just anything. That fall, we ran into Adam at the Beerfest and met Kate, who is now his wife and was one of the organizers.”

2018

The couples became good friends and that led to Stephanie joining the committee.

It’s a textbook example of how the festival has brought people together through its 10 years of existence.

When Adam and Kate moved back to Minnesota, Kate handed the reins of volunteer coordinator to Stephanie.

2015

Former committee member Trevor Kearney remembers a lot of porch beers shared in the early years with Drew Barton, Mark Morrison, Josh Spickler and Toby Sells, planning the event and wondering how we were going to pull it off.

“It’s not rocket science, of course, and you don’t have to twist anyone’s arm to put on such an event,” he said. “The committee meetings were always fun (sometimes too fun) and we missed a deadline or two, but when things needed to get done, they got done. What has always impressed me, from when I was taking orders as a member of the committee to someone watching from afar, is that it’s stayed true to the intent:

It’s all about the beer and the people that make the beer great, and it’s as much fun for a brewer as it is for a volunteer as it is for a neighbor who bought a ticket.”

2016

Kearney remembers cold calling a brewery one time and getting an answer on the 15th ring. The brewer had just finished a batch and got to the phone. After a rambling conversation, Country Boy Brewing attended the festival in 2011 and was a big hit.

Not all of Kearney’s memories are so happy. He recalls how, in its third year, the festival ran out of beer. They learned their lesson, and it’s never happened again.

2015

New for this year

Now, with new members such as Doug Carriker and Bryan Hamilton, the festival is changing a little each year, with new ideas, new brewers and new beers. Though it will never be the same each time, the constant will be a focus on beers and making more memories. Doug has been recruiting Alabama breweries while Bryan is calling on Kentucky breweries.

2018

Finally, to celebrate our 10th year, the Cooper-Young Beerfest is offering a special High Gravity Anniversary Package, presented by Orion Federal Credit Union.

Only available until September 20, the package offers a special steel carabiner mug, a Beerfest T-shirt, a coozie and a tote for only $65.

2018

The 10th Annual Cooper-Young Beer Festival will be 1 to 5 p.m., Saturday, October 19, at the Midtown Autowerks parking lot at 795 South Cooper Street.  Tickets are available at www.cybeerfest.org. Tickets are $45 until October 1, when the price increases to $50.

The Cooper-Young Community Association is teaming up with Compost Fairy to make its events zero waste. Compost Fairy will be on site at the Cooper-Young Beerfest to help separate trash, recyclables and compostable items.

Over the Years: