Soul & Spirits Brewery – Memphis Flyer

Guests could raise a glass and shout “Skol” to toast the Skol-astic Book Fair, which was held August 10th at Soul & Spirits Brewery.

People put their noses in beer and in books at the event, which featured “Lyric,” a brew made for the occasion. Ryan Allen, who owns the brewery with his wife, Blair Perry, describes it as “a farmhouse ale with Earl Grey tea.”

“We just do it for the book fair every year,” he says. “So, it’s really only available that day. This year I doubled the amount I made last year, and it still sold out in the same amount of time.

“We call it ‘Lyric’ because lyrics are the words of a song. It’s a way to tie in the theme of the book fair and being a wordsmith.”

Melissa Justice, DJ Reitzel, and Rian Taylor

Describing their event, Ryan says, “We invited all the bookstores in town. And this year, I think a little more uniquely, we invited individual authors that could come in and sit and speak with people and sell their books.”

They want people to “connect directly with the authors.”

If you like beer, books, and nostalgia, you better book it to Soul & Spirits Brewery this Saturday for the brewery’s first-ever Skol-astic Adult Book Fair.

In case you didn’t catch on to the pun there, Skol-astic is a nod to those Scholastic book fairs from childhood, with the “skol” part being the Scandinavian word for “cheers.” “We wanted to recreate that feeling of being so excited to buy new books, but with beer,” says Blair Perry, who planned the whole shebang with her friend Mandy Martin. “We wanted to create an event that is very different than any other event in town and that is geared towards people who love books because a lot of times readers are kind of introverted” — and sometimes introverts want to be social, too.

For the day, Martin and Perry were able to get all the bookstores and book vendors in town to set up shop at the brewery, with each focusing on a “niche style of book,” says Perry. Friends of the Library, the nonprofit that supports Memphis Public Libraries, will sell used books; Novel will bring bestselling contemporary fiction while Burke’s Book Store will bring books by Memphis authors and a classics collection. Online vendors Cafe Noir (which is set to open a brick-and-mortar location later this year) and DeMoir Books & Things will sell BIPOC classics and Afrofuturism books, respectively. Plus, South Main Book Juggler will bring children’s books and YA novels.

“For every $10 that you spend [on books], you’re going to get to pick from the little freebie bags like you did as a kid,” says Perry, adding that every time you purchase a beer, you’ll also get entered into a raffle for a bigger prize. “Every 30-ish minutes, we’re going to be drawing a ticket for a free prize that our vendors have donated.”

The brewery is also releasing a special beer for the book fair. “It’s a surprise,” says Perry, “but I’ll say that it’s bookish-related, so something that you would enjoy drinking while you’re reading.”

Perry and Martin have also partnered with Amy Dobbins of Mint Cream Market, who has recruited literary-themed vendors and local authors to discuss and sign their books, while Paper Plate Pavilion and Tacos Mondragon will have food available for purchase.

And, don’t worry, there will be a quiet space for those who want to read (and drink) in peace in the Low Tones Room, which also happens to be where the brewery hosts its Beers and Books Club every first Friday of the month. “We don’t tell you what book to read,” Perry says of the club. “We just provide a quiet space for a couple of hours for anybody to come in and read.”

Skol-astic Adult Book Fair, Soul & Spirits Brewery, Saturday, August 12, 1-7 p.m.