Beers from MFS Brewing hitting Memphis market early, thanks to Memphis Made contract brewing

Yesterday, the team behind MFS Brewing got the keys to their new brewery and taproom space at 206 GE Patterson in Downtown Memphis.

Their lease has been inked, and construction will start soon on the future home of MFS Brewing, aka Memphis Filling Station.

But you won’t have to wait until MFS’s taproom opens later this year to buy an MFS beer.

MFS beers are hitting the market early, with limited distribution of kegs in the Memphis area, as well as guest taps at Memphis Made Brewing Co.‘s Midtown location, where MFS has been contract brewing.

“We’ve talked about contract brewing before, and when Drew (Barton) at Memphis Made approached us about starting up a ‘ghost taproom’ at the Midtown MMBC taproom, it was perfect timing,” MFS Brewing’s Bryan Berretta told Memphis Beer Blog.

Berretta added: “We’ve signed a lease, we’re filing paperwork for everything under the sun, and about to get started on the downtown space. Working with our friends to help get our beer out on the market is the most MFS way we could think of to kick this off.”

The MFS ghost taproom at Memphis Made, 768 S. Cooper St., starts Saturday, Feb. 10.

MFS beers, such as the Left-Handed Screwdriver, a citrus honey wheat beer made with local honey and orange peel, will be on guest taps there.

Other more limited beers will also be available, including Re-Spec’d Pecan a la Mode and Coffee Pastry Stout, Happy Little Toolbox Ginger Molasses Cookie Imperial Porter, and Workbench IPA. Later, MFS plans to offer Without Tolerances, a coffee milk stout, at Memphis Made.

“We’re excited to see more craft beer in Memphis,” said Barton, who is Memphis Made’s president. “And we’re proud to be able to host a ghost tap room with our fellow brewers.”

In addition to selling beers at Memphis Made, MFS is also looking to distribute its beers on a very limited basis. MFS is expected to send kegs of its beers to Lucchesi’s Beer Garden, the Arcade Restaurant, and 901 Comics East.

The team behind MFS has been serving their home-brewed beers at events around Memphis for years, such as the Science of Beer and Cooper Young Beer Festival. They’re finally planning to open a brick-and-mortar spot near Wiseacre Brewing Co.’s downtown location.

In December, the Center City Development Corporation approved a request for a $30,000 Retail Tenant Improvement grant to help MFS Brewing make improvements to its planned brewery location on GE Patterson.

MFS may open in its 4,300-square-foot-space as soon as the summer of 2024.

The Memphis Filling Station LLC ownership team consists of Berretta, Heather Reed, Jesse Lara and Scott Kley-Contini.