Memphis Trip (from March)
Ugh. I tried to post some stuff regarding our trip to Memphis two months or so ago, but my web browser repeatedly crashed. After 2 or 3 attempts where all my beer writing disappeared into the ether, I gave up. But in the spirit of spring cleaning, I'll try to clean up some beer related clutter.
First, Memphis. Memphis is not really known as a beer town-- Elvis, yes. Barbecue, you bet. But you'd probably imagine that the non-Budweiser beer selections would be pretty slim. And for the most part, you'd be right.
But Memphis, where I lived for 5 years, does have its redeeming beer qualities. And foremost among them is Bosco's. Bosco's began with one brewpub in Germantown (a suburb of Memphis), though it now stretches from Nashville to Little Rock and has 3 locations (the original Germantown one having closed down).
What has always really impressed me about Bosco's is that it really created a market for good beer in Memphis. When Bosco's first opened (a few years before I moved to Memphis) it served mostly what I call "entry-level" beers-- a cream ale, a lager, an amber, etc.
But as time went by and it built up a clientele, the beers became more and more serious. A fine IPA. A porter. Stouts of various kinds. Scottish ale. Wee heavy. 90 schilling ale. And so on. In the fullness of time Bosco's began to feature cask-conditioned ale occasionally. Now each location taps a cask every weeknight at 5:00. All bar patrons for the hour or so before get raffle tickets with each pint of beer. At 5:00 a Cellerman is chosen by lot. The Cellerman helps tap the cask, gets a commemorative glass, and enjoys a free first pint of the cask. Then each year there is a Cellerman of the Year party for all the previous year's winners. One lucky cellerman gets an all-expense-paid trip to the Great American Beer Festival.
It's a great idea that more brewpubs should adopt.
Anyway-- no trip to Memphis would be complete without spending some quality time at Bosco's. It happened to be St. Patrick's Day when we were there, so we drank some yummy Irish style stout. I also tried just about all of Bosco's other beers-- a couple of great IPAs, a Scottish ale, maybe a porter. My memory was a bit hazy the next day, and now nearly 2 months later, it's hard to recall. But a good time was had by all.
Bosco's practically had a seat with my name on it for a number of years. And it's always good to visit, even if all the bartenders I knew have moved on.
Oh, and by the way-- we ate a lot of Memphis barbecue while we were in town. The Rendezvous, Corky's, the Cozy Corner, the Germantown Commissary. Yum.
First, Memphis. Memphis is not really known as a beer town-- Elvis, yes. Barbecue, you bet. But you'd probably imagine that the non-Budweiser beer selections would be pretty slim. And for the most part, you'd be right.
But Memphis, where I lived for 5 years, does have its redeeming beer qualities. And foremost among them is Bosco's. Bosco's began with one brewpub in Germantown (a suburb of Memphis), though it now stretches from Nashville to Little Rock and has 3 locations (the original Germantown one having closed down).
What has always really impressed me about Bosco's is that it really created a market for good beer in Memphis. When Bosco's first opened (a few years before I moved to Memphis) it served mostly what I call "entry-level" beers-- a cream ale, a lager, an amber, etc.
But as time went by and it built up a clientele, the beers became more and more serious. A fine IPA. A porter. Stouts of various kinds. Scottish ale. Wee heavy. 90 schilling ale. And so on. In the fullness of time Bosco's began to feature cask-conditioned ale occasionally. Now each location taps a cask every weeknight at 5:00. All bar patrons for the hour or so before get raffle tickets with each pint of beer. At 5:00 a Cellerman is chosen by lot. The Cellerman helps tap the cask, gets a commemorative glass, and enjoys a free first pint of the cask. Then each year there is a Cellerman of the Year party for all the previous year's winners. One lucky cellerman gets an all-expense-paid trip to the Great American Beer Festival.
It's a great idea that more brewpubs should adopt.
Anyway-- no trip to Memphis would be complete without spending some quality time at Bosco's. It happened to be St. Patrick's Day when we were there, so we drank some yummy Irish style stout. I also tried just about all of Bosco's other beers-- a couple of great IPAs, a Scottish ale, maybe a porter. My memory was a bit hazy the next day, and now nearly 2 months later, it's hard to recall. But a good time was had by all.
Bosco's practically had a seat with my name on it for a number of years. And it's always good to visit, even if all the bartenders I knew have moved on.
Oh, and by the way-- we ate a lot of Memphis barbecue while we were in town. The Rendezvous, Corky's, the Cozy Corner, the Germantown Commissary. Yum.
posted by Eric | 4:39 PM
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