Michael Donahue
Beer rules at the Cooper-Young Beerfest
Leather lederhosen isn’t the best attire when the temperature is in the high 80s.
“I am sweating,” said Jacob Griffin, who, along with Roy Wells, were wearing the suede German-style pants at the Cooper-Young Beerfest, held Oct. 14 at Midtown Autowerks.
“My lower half is uncomfortably warm,” Wells said.
Amber Griffin, who was in a dirndle skirt and blouse instead of shorts, said she wants EVERYONE to dress in similar Oktoberfest attire at next year’s festival. Which may be a tall order if that day turns out to be another scorcher.
About 1,000 people – many of them in flip-flops and shorts – attended this year’s festival, which benefits the Cooper-Young Community Association.
Foaming at the mouth wasn’t a bad thing.
The event has “definitely grown,” said Cooper-Young Community Association executive director Kristen Schebler.
Home brewing clubs and 31 breweries took part in the regional beer festival, she said.
“One thing that sets Beerfest apart is it’s a benefit for the local community,” Schebler said. “It’s all about community, right? So, it’s about Cooper-Young as a community and the brewing community as a community.”
When the festival began eight years ago, Andy Ashby and Drew Barton of Memphis Made Brewing Co. said the two communities should be combined. Brewers can “show off with each other and show off to other people what they’re doing,” Schebler said.
Goner Records provided music to sip or chug to.
Note: If you want a pair of those white socks with “BEER” written on them in red letters pictured on Cooper-Young Beerfest’s web page, you’ll just have to shop around. They weren’t selling them at the festival. “We have a lot of people who really get into it,” Schebler said. “It’s people who come out in all their different beer paraphernalia. I think that was just a fun one.”
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