Considering the fact that craft brewers are visiting Nashville from all around the country for the Craft Brewers Conference, it’s right neighborly that Yazoo Brewing Co. will put on its biggest party of the year with its annual Funk Fest, a celebration of wild-fermented funky and sour beers, along with a few saisons, meads and lagers.
Embrace the Funk is kind of an adjunct brewery under the Yazoo umbrella that allows brewers Brandon Jones and Linus Hall to play around with specialty beers in a separate facility without fear of infecting their Madison-based brewery with any stray bacteria. We don’t want a The Last of Us situation happening to one of the city’s most beloved breweries!
So that’s why production and the festival take place at Yazoo’s Barrel Cellar at 1871 Elm Tree Drive, a nondescript building in the middle of a small industrial park that I know well — I worked across the street for 20 years. If only ETF was brewing back then, I might not have quit that job.
On Saturday, May 6, Yazoo invites CBC attendees — and anyone else who is a fan of funky beers — to join them for Funk Fest from noon until 5 p.m. Tickets are $85 for the opportunity to sample beers from some of the best breweries in the world, plus all the food you need from chef Jeremy Barlow, who will be putting out a rotating menu to pair with those crazy complex beers. Kathleen Cotter of The Bloomy Rind will be bringing some of her funkiest cheeses to match to the beers, and you know she has the good stuff!
There will be all sorts of educational seminars throughout the day, including from Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River Brewing), Averie Swanson (Keeping Together) and Garrett Oliver (Brooklyn Brewery). The presentations will be moderated by John Holl of All About Beer magazine, and sponsored by Northeast Barrel Company.
Your ticket includes:
Entrance to the entire event
Commemorative tasting glass
Unlimited beer samples
Access to the educational speaker area
All the cheese and chef-prepared food you care to enjoy
Coffee and drinks from The Frothy Monkey
A fun day in a welcoming environment
Attendees will also be able to add this year’s official Funk Fest bottle during checkout. Always a highlight of ETF’s year, the 2023 edition is a blend of Belgian Tripel and spontaneously fermented coolship ale conditioned with shiraz grapes, boysenberries and tellicherry peppercorns.
Of course, this beery event is 21-and-older only, and you can (and should) buy your tickets ASAP at the official Funk Fest website.
