FuzzyBrew

The guys from Yazoo Brewing Company in Nashville are headed back to Memphis to host another beer fun run, and this time they’re coming to Midtown.

Yazoo will host the “Barely a 4K Beer Run” on Feb. 11 in Cooper-Young, beginning and ending at the Young Avenue Deli. The 2.5-mile run starts at 10 a.m., but you need to check in between 9 and 9:30.

With your $15 registration, you get a special “Barely a 4K Beer Run” T shirt and two complimentary Yazoo beers.

Here’s more from Yazoo:

There won’t be any challenging hills, nor will there be any time chips for your shoes. We are just jogging around the neighborhood and having some tasty beverages afterward. … As with all of our Barely a 4K Beer Runs, we will not be shutting down streets or stopping traffic, so you are running at your own risk. Heck, you don’t even have to run if you don’t want, but it is always a lot more fun if you do! All participants must be 21 or older, and we will be checking ID’s during the check in period before the run.

Yazoo hosted its first Memphis beer run in December, taking runners through historic Downtown. It was a blast. For more on the December run, check out FuzzyBrew’s recap of the event.

To register for the Feb. 11 run, click here. To view a map of the course, go here.

Saturday’s second-annual Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest drew a sold-out crowd of 600 to a small parking lot in Midtown that was transformed into an oasis of craft beer and homebrew. The selection of regional beer, combined with a picture-perfect 78-degree day, combined for Memphis’ best beer festival in the past year. We’re already looking forward to next year.

Boscos Squared’s new brewer, Adam, who just moved to town from Nashville, pours a sample. To his left is Boscos founding partner Chuck Skypeck.

Memphis’ Ghost River Brewing, which started bottling its Golden Ale this week, had its new bottlecaps on display.

Louisiana-based Bayou Teche Brewing was a new addition to the festival. The Grenade and Boucanèe were particularly good.

Atlanta’s Red Brick Brewing, which is now distributing in Memphis, was also a new addition to the festival.

Red Brick’s Laughing Skull Amber Ale was among the beers served.

Justin mans the Yazoo Brewing Company table. As usual, the Nashville brewery’s Hop Project was excellent.

Yazoo Brewmaster Ivan Chester discusses keg beer versus cask beer at the “Beer Tent Revival,” the festival’s beer education tent.

Justin poured samples of Yazoo pale from a keg, then a cask, so festival-goers could compare the two in terms of taste and carbonation.

A deejay from Cooper Young’s Goner Records spun tunes.

Mike Lee, owner of Midsouth Malts, sold homebrew kits and supplies and poured samples of homebrew, as well.

Memphis’ homebrew club, the Bluff City Brewers & Connoisseurs, had 11 homebrewers at the festival, including the three of us who blog here at FuzzyBrew. The homebrew table always had a line, and the beer went fast.

The free FuzzyBrew bottlecap magnets were a hit.

The “B” shift of the Bluff City Brewers had these beers. Peter’s Purple Rain and Grant’s Apricot Pale Ale were the first kegs to float.

The FuzzyBrew crew — Grant, Mike and Jeff –  in action. All of our kegs floated in under 90 minutes.

Yesterday, we told you about the Yazoo Brewing Company tasting at Raffe’s Deli this Thursday.

Well, the very next night, on Friday, is a special “Buy the Pint, Keep the Glass” night at the Young Avenue Deli in Cooper-Young, also featuring Nashville-based Yazoo beer.

Brewmaster Ivan Chester will be bringing a special cask-conditioned beer — apparently a Sly Rye Porter brewed with Olive & Sinclair cocoa nibs, which sounds delicious.

The event starts at 6 p.m. at the Deli, 2119 Young Avenue.

All this is leading up to Saturday’s big Midtown beer event, the Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest, which will feature Yazoo and other regional craft brewers, not to mention some great Memphis homebrew. More on that tomorrow.

Grains and grapes will face off in another “Beer vs. Wine” dinner later this month in Memphis.

The dinner will be held June 21, from 6:30-9:30 p.m., at Sweet Grass in Cooper-Young. Cost is $65 per person, plus tax and gratuity.

The last dinner was held in February at the Brushmark Restaurant in the Brooks Museum of Art.

This time, chef Ryan Trimm at Sweet Grass will prepare a five-course dinner that will feature a beer and wine pairing with each course. At the end, attendees will decide which beverage they liked better.

Beer pairings will be presented by Certified Cicerone Michael Barzizza from Southwestern Distributing. Wines, meanwhile, will be presented by Trinchero Family Estate’s Sommelier Barry Wiss.

Here’s the menu:

Round 1: Pan-seared sea scallop, watermelon, Newman Farms Prosciutto, basil & balsamic reduction
Contenders ~ Le Merle Saison & Joel Gott Chardonnay

Round 2: Smoked Salmon Carpaccio, shaved fennel, capers, lemon horseradish vinaigrette & rye toast
Contenders ~ Chimay Tripel & SeaGlass Sauvignon Blanc

Round 3: Duck Confit Risotto, Mississippi Natural Shiitake Mushrooms, sorrel, Flora Farms Duck Egg & honey thyme reduction
Contenders ~ Stone Ruination IPA & Napa Cellars Pinot Noir

Round 4: Roasted Newman Farms Pork Belly, braised rabbit Hoppin’ John, peach gastrique & sweet potato haystack
Contenders ~ Maredsous 8 & Terra d’Oro Deaver Ranch Zinfandel

Round 5: Blackberry Turnover, lemon ice cream, blackberry syrup & candied lemon peels
Contenders ~ Samuel Smith Organic Strawberry Fruit Beer & a surprise wine from Bob Trinchero’s personal wine cellar.

For reservations, call Sweet Grass at (901) 278-0278. Organizers expect the event to sell out pretty fast.