Unlimited beer on tap, live music, food, games for kids and even circus performers will be at High Cotton Brewing Company’s Oktoberfest at the High Cotton Taproom at 598 Monroe Avenue on Oct. 4. The festival begins at noon and will go on until 7 p.m. High Cotton Brewery will also be releasing their Oktoberfest beer at the festival.
U of M professor and occasional brewer Brice Timmons is one of the owners of High Cotton Brewery. He explained the reasons behind bringing Oktoberfest to Memphis.
“We are trying to bring the city together and having a beer with someone is a great way to get to know them,” Timmons said.
Timmons said they are expecting a crowd of 1,500 to 2,500 people and there will be enough food to feed at least 3,000 people.
Like the German festival of the same name, Memphis’ Oktoberfest is going to be like a regional fair, with activities for all age groups to take part in, Timmons said.
In keeping with the idea of getting to know the community, this festival will also be celebrating the Memphis community and its local companies and organizations, like Grow Memphis. Grow Memphis is a non-profit organization that partners with communities in Memphis and Shelby County to promote a sustainable local food system. High Cotton Brewery will be donating a portion of the revenue generated from Oktoberfest to Grow Memphis.
Carole Colter, Executive Director of Grow Memphis, was enthusiastic for the festival. Colter believes everyone should go out and enjoy the event.
“It is going to be a great event and we appreciate all the hard work High Cotton Brewery is doing,” Colter said.
In order to help raise funds for Grow Memphis, patrons will have to pay to get into the festival. Regular admission tickets are $40, which will include food and open taps. A VIP ticket is $75 and includes commemorative glass stein, Oktoberfest T-shirt, a larger beer selection, locally raised whole pig roast and an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Mc Alexander, assistant brewer at High Cotton Brewery says that if he weren’t working at the event he would be one of the attendees.
“There is going to be great German food and an open tap,” Alexander said. “What more could you want?”
There’s plenty of tiger spirit swirling around the brewery—Alexander, Timmons and co-owner Ryan Staggs are graduates of the U of M.
“All three bleed blue,” Alexander said.
High Cotton began brewing craft beer in 2013, at the same time Wiseacre Brewery and Memphis Made Brewery started their brewing operations. Even though Wiseacre and Memphis Made are competitors, Alexander believes that they are all part of the same family.
“Beer in its very nature is a communal drink, and if you look back into time, at the dawn of civilization beer was a necessity when water was hard to come by,” Alexander said. “It took the entire community to come together and brew it.”
