Beer and summer are pork ribs and dry rub, sun and rock-and-roll, crystals and grottos — they just go together.
Memphians deserve good, cold beers in the summer, too, dammit. It ain’t hot yet, like Memphis-hot hot. But y’all remember what it’s like in August? Your skin melts. Your insides cook. You don’t want to get into or out of your car. Union asphalt shimmers like a dessert oasis.
But you can’t stay inside all summer. So, when you’re out there in those uninviting environs, you gotta fight back. You gotta reclaim your right to have fun outdoors. Cold water would do, probably. Cold beer would do better, definitely.
“But, Toby, I can’t think of any places to drink beers outside this year,” you say.
I know. That’s why I’ve spent two decades researching this at the Toby Sells Outdoor Beer Drinking Research Council of Greater Memphis (TSOBDRCGM). White papers on the matter are being readied for publication behind the scenes. But I thought I’d give you a sneak peek.
Here are three great outdoor beer experiences you should have this summer:
Memphis Redbirds at AutoZone Park
Field work on this one commenced in earnest Friday as the Birds hosted the Louisville Bats in a 6-0 loss for the home team. But beer, baseball, and rooting for the home team in our amazing Downtown stadium is a can’t-miss summer specialty.
I don’t even love baseball, nor do I routinely wear patriotism as part of my personality. But on Friday I counted balls and strikes after rising solemnly for the national anthem. I really loved the “America” of the thing: watching kids run for foul balls, families sharing barbecue nachos, and everyone mouthing the words to “Little Pink Houses” and dancing freely (thanks to a few beers) in their seats during the 7th inning stretch.
Friday was “$5 Friday” and Dos Equis tallboys (and margaritas) were, yep, $5. You’ve got to go lager for at least one beer in a baseball stadium. I think that’s in the Constitution. And I did. It was glorious.
Pro tip: AutoZone Park has a sneaky good grab-and-go situation in the concourse now. Drink refrigerators (like at a convenience store) offer water, soft drinks, and beers. You walk up, grab what you like, and check yourself out. No line, at least not for me at all during Friday’s game. And I got a $7 Memphis Made Cat Nap and Soul & Spirits Hoochie Coochie. Memphis IPAs at a Memphis game. Equally glorious.
Orion Financial Free Concert Series atOverton Park Shell
Our researchers (me) are still reviewing what exactly makes music sound so good outdoors in the summertime, especially with a beer in your hand. I have almost concluded that it’s just a fact of the universe, like atoms, and that no Memphis summer is complete without this experience.
It all has to be true because so many go to the Orion Financial Free Concert Series every year and a good many of them bring beer: coolers and backpacks and picnic baskets — I am surprised someone hasn’t tried to rig a kegerator out there yet. (Don’t bring any glass bottles, y’all.)
They go because they want that quintessential summer-in-Memphis moment when the music hits just right, there’s a cold beer in their hand, friends are near, troubles are far, and they think, “This is why I love Memphis.”
No fear if you forgot your beer. Get them (and other drinks) at the Jaguar Shell Bar.
TPE — The Patio Experience
The council has spent innumerable hours studying TPE. Does it matter which one? Which beer? Which friend group? Which day? None of it matters. Time on patios with loved ones is time well spent. Furthermore, you are never wasting time on a Memphis patio, you’re spending it. And spending it wisely, our research suggests.
My residential bias skews my research to Cooper-Young. My can’t-miss patios for enjoying the CY community are Celtic Crossing (the new one is amazing), Hammer & Ale, and Cooper House Project.
I have fallen in love with meeting friends at the outdoor bar at Cooper’s. They have a great draft selection and those huge glasses I just call “Big Boys.”
