The taps will flow and the party will go on, but you have to pony up if you want to play. Don’t bother buying tickets for Cooper-Young Beerfest, on sale Sept. 15, unless you can show your vaccine card when you show your ID at the gate. 

“There was a lot of conversation, a lot of email about making the vaccine card required,” said festival co-founder and Memphis Made Brewing Co. co-owner Andy Ashby. “We haven’t had a whole lot of push back.”

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Beerfest is the latest festival to require this safety measure. Mempho Music Fest and GonerFest previously announced they’re doing the same, though you can show proof of a negative COVID test within 48 hours at Mempho. Tennessee is leading the country in the number of coronavirus cases per capita (as of Sept. 9, the last reported date for this data, according to The New York Times COVID tracker).

“We’re also decreasing the number of attendees,” Ashby said. “We normally have over 1,000 people but now we’re going to set the limit to 800. We’ve never been really packed in, but now it’ll be even less so.”

That’s intentional, Ashby said of the festival that started in 2010 as a fundraiser for the Cooper-Young Community Association.

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“We pride ourselves on not having long lines, giving people time to talk to the brewers and to get to know about the beer,” he said. “It’s fun and it’s about education.”

And as a fundraiser, there’s no real stress about making money.

“We’re all volunteers and sure, we want to make money, but we don’t have the pressure to make money like, say, Memphis in May does,” Ashby said.

In another nod to COVID safety, Memphis Made has canceled its Cooper-York Festival that takes place at the brewery during the popular Cooper-Young Festival, coming up Sept. 18. Instead of its usual party with music and beer, the taproom will be open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. for takeout sales only.

The music will be available via a code to access the playlists, one from Ashby, one from co-owner Drew Barton and four from lead brewer Adam Cagle. Cases of select beer will be discounted and all beer available to-go.

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“We want everyone to have a safe and fun weekend,” Barton said. “Enjoy Cooper-York Festival to-go on your front porch, in your backyard, or wherever your happy place is.”

Cooper-Young Beerfest is a rain or shine event, 1-5 p.m. Oct. 9. Grab your tickets by clicking here, but only if you have or will have your vaccine card. They’re $45 if you buy before Sept. 30 and $50 after that; the event has always sold out.

The website has other information, like where to get food, where to park (the answer is don’t: ride share instead), and a list of participating breweries. Right now there are 34, Ashby said the limit is 35 — and he warned that one or two might back out.

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“We don’t know what the situation will be at that time and that could happen,” he said. “But if we lose one or two, we understand. Everyone needs grace right now.”