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Boscos won its first medal at the World Beer Cup this weekend, capturing the gold for the Boscos Hefeweizen.

Boscos won in “Category 52: German-Style Pale Wheat Ale,” which had 22 entries. It was only the second time Boscos had entered the World Beer Cup, according to Boscos founding partner Chuck Skypeck.

And it was the second big win in the past year for the Boscos Hefeweizen, which also took gold at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival.

Boscos has brewpubs in Memphis, Nashville and Franklin in Tennessee, as well as Little Rock, Ark. The Hefeweizen was brewed at the Little Rock brewery, though all the Boscos breweries entered the beer collectively.

The 2012 World Beer Cup, the ninth bi-annual such competition, boasted the strongest field of entrants on record, with 799 breweries from 54 countries and 45 U.S. states entering 3,921 beers in 95 beer style categories. A 17.7 percent increase over 2010,  entries were eligible for gold, silver and bronze awards in their respective categories. Judges presented a total of 284 awards.

“It’s called ‘The Olympics of Beer Competition’ for good reason,” said Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewers Association, the U.S.-based trade association that has put on the competition every two years since 1996.

“The event brings together great brewers from all corners of the globe. Plus, the awards are highly regarded. A brewer who wins a World Beer Cup gold award knows that their winning beer represents the best of that beer style in the world. Congratulations to all the winners of the 2012 World Beer Cup. The Brewers Association and the proud sponsors of our event thank all participating brewers for their involvement.”

Go here for a complete list of winners.

On Saturday, more than 20 Memphis area homebrewers brewed beer on the parking lot of Boscos in Overton Square to celebrate National Homebrew Day.

The brew day was part of the American Homebrewers Association Big Brew, an annual event to celebrate National Homebrew Day held on the first Saturday in May.

Boscos provided the space and gave each homebrewer free wort to brew with, as well as yeast. Brewers brought their own hops and made whatever concoction they wanted with the base of mostly two-row malt, with some crystal malt.

Homebrewers from the Bluff City Brewers & Connoisseurs and the Memphis Brewer’s Association participated in the event, which is always one of the highlights of the year for the brew clubs.

Grant waits for his wort inside Boscos.

Homebrewer Joe Barnes fills the kettle. Barnes was among the volunteers who assisted Boscos brewer Adam Hargrove on Saturday.

Each brewer got 5-10 gallons of wort to boil.

Mark and Nate carry a kettle full of wort to the burner.

Some people didn’t need help!

Memphis-grown Cascade hops.

I made a single-hop Cascade American Pale Ale.

FuzzyBrew kettles.

After chilling, the wort is dumped into carboys, with yeast added soon after at home.

What did you make for National Homebrew Day? Leave a comment below.

Mike Lee, owner of Mid-South Malts, is among the investors in High Cotton Brewing Company.

A team of investors has an option on a building in the Edge District near Downtown and plans to open a microbrewery in the space by year’s end.

High Cotton Brewing Company LLC has a contract to buy an 8,778-square-foot building at 598 Monroe, across from Kudzu’s Bar & Grill, and plans to start a craft brewing operation, according to several media reports. The building is a former auto parts distributorship.

High Cotton would be only the third brewery in Memphis after Midtown brewpub Boscos and Boscos’ sister brewery, Ghost River Brewing, a microbrewery in Downtown.

High Cotton’s partners include longtime brewer Mike Lee, owner of homebrew supply shop Mid-South Malts; Brice Timmons, a lawyer with Black McLaren Jones Ryland & Griffee, P.C.; Ryan Staggs, an engineer with Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division; and Ross Avery, a pilot with United Airlines. There is also a fifth silent partner in the venture.

High Cotton’s primary business would be selling kegs to local bars and restaurants, but it also plans to open a taproom with limited hours. That aspect of the business would require an amendment to the city’s alcoholic beverage ordinance and city and county zoning codes, according to The Commercial Appeal. Current rules don’t allow beer consumption in establishments that don’t serve food.

High Cotton will brew with a seven-barrel system, producing 14 kegs of beer at a time, the Memphis Business Journal reports, and plans to open with two regular beers.

We’re trying to formulate recipes that are very well-crafted and flavorful, and more geared towards the craft drinker – that’s our goal,” Lee told the Memphis Daily News. “We anticipate being very customer-friendly. We want to craft beers that people really want to drink.”

Stay tuned for more on High Cotton from FuzzyBrew. Meanwhile, what would you like to see from Memphis’ newest brewery? Leave a comment below.

Craft beer fans converged on Handy Park off Beale Street in Downtown Memphis on Saturday for the 3rd annual River City Brewers Festival.

More than 100 different beers were served, from craft beers to homebrews provided by the Bluff City Brewers & Connoisseurs. There were also plenty of free food samples, from chicken wings to steaks to pork sliders.

Unlike last year’s festival, which was soaked by rain, Mother Nature cooperated, delivering a perfect 85-degree sunny day.

There were two tasting sessions — Session A from noon to 4 p.m., followed by Session B from 6 to 10 p.m. Festival attendees received a commemorative 5-ounce tasting glass and could sample as many beers as they liked.

Some of my favorites were New Belgium’s Shift Lager, Red Brick’s Old Stock Ale, O’Fallon’s Hemp Hop Rye and Widmer Brothers’ Pitch Black IPA.

The sun was on full blast during Session A.

Justin tapped the first keg of Yazoo Brewing Company’s Gerst Amber Ale in Memphis.

Gerst beer, created by William Gerst in 1893, has been recreated by Yazoo.

Boscos Squared’s brewer Adam served up Memphis-brewed craft beer.

Atlanta’s Red Brick Brewing, which has been distributing in Memphis for about a year, served its fantastic Stock Ale in addition a Blonde and Brown.

Laughing Skull Amber Ale, another excellent offering from Red Brick, was served.

The Patrick Dodd Band provided the soundtrack for the day.

Just what everyone needs: a PBR toaster.

A hoppy highlight was New Belgium’s Shift Lager, which made its Memphis debut.

Lazy Magnolia brought a keg of its new Southern Hops’pitality IPA, as well as the Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale, Deep South Pale Ale and Jefferson Stout.

And, of course, there was cornhole!