Rock’n Dough Pizza+Brewery’s third brick-and-mortar location opens in the Memphis area today, just a stone’s throw from the historic Sun Studio.
The new location at 704 Madison Ave. in the Orleans Station development will have 16 beers on tap, all brewed at Rock’n Dough’s in-house brewery, Hub City Brewing Co., in Jackson, Tenn.
One of the beers, “Sun, Moon & Fire,” is new to Rock’n Dough and was inspired by the restaurant’s famous neighbor, where a young Elvis Presley got his start and changed popular music forever.
“Sun, Moon & Fire,” 5% ABV, is a copper-hued, German-style Altbier.
The beer was designed by Joe Cogen, general manager of the Orleans Station Rock’n Dough, and Cody Stooksberry, head brewer at Hub City.
Cogen told Memphis Beer Blog he wanted to create a beer with an amber or red color, and Stooksberry suggested an Altbier.
Altbiers originated in the Düsseldorf area of Germany and were top-fermented beers, as opposed to bottom-fermented beers. They have a nice balance between hop and malt flavors and aromas, and can have low esters, ranging from fruit to pepper to floral.
Stooksberry described Sun, Moon & Fire as having mild esters with a dark fruit character. The beer is malty with “just the slightest kiss of a roast malt,” he said.
Sun, Moon & Fire was lagered for about a month and a half at Hub City after primary fermentation.
“Cody knocked it out of the park. It’s definitely my favorite beer we have on the line, and not just because I helped build it out. I have a special attachment to it, but man does it taste good,” Cogen said.
More about Rock’n Dough’s Sun, Moon & Fire
The “Sun” in the beer’s name is a nod to Sun Studio. “Moon” comes from “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” which Presley recorded at Sun in July 1954. Meanwhile, “Fire” is a tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Great Balls of Fire,” recorded at Sun in October 1957.
As a percussionist and actor, Cogen toured all over the country portraying drummer Jerry Allison in Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, a musical about the rock ‘n roll pioneer and his band, the Crickets.
“It really built my love for ’50s-style rock ‘n roll and rockabilly. So opening up a restaurant, literally just two blocks from Sun Studio, it’s just something I was really excited about.”
To help promote the beer, Rock’n Dough has created some special artwork.
The label design was inspired by the famous “Million Dollar Quartet” photograph, taken when Presley, Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash got together in 1956 as part of an impromptu jam session at Sun.
For now, Sun, Moon & Fire will be exclusive to the new Rock’n Dough location in Orleans Station, and it’s only available on draft.
“I really hope it pops off. I really hope we can keep it here,” Cogen said.
“And, obviously, if it does well, we’ll expand it to the rest of the Memphis stores and Rock’n Dough at large. But right now, it’s exclusive to Orleans Station, and yeah, we couldn’t be more happy about it. It’s a perfect depiction of an Altbier.”
Rock’n Dough’s beer list and other offerings
The Orleans Station Rock’n Dough officially opens today, and there’s a family-friendly grand opening celebration planned for Saturday, April 11, from 5 to 10 p.m.
The new Rock’n Dough location features four lanes of duckpin bowling, an outdoor patio, and games like cornhole and life-size Jenga and Connect Four.
For food, the menu will feature artisan pizzas, plus salads, burgers, pasta, sandwiches and wraps.
There will also be a full bar, an expansive whiskey list and more beers on tap than either the Germantown or Cordova Rock’n Dough locations.
In addition to Sun, Moon & Fire, the Orleans Station restaurant will have these Hub City/Rock’n Dough beers on tap when it opens today:
- Hold My Beer, a light American lager
- My Town Pilsner
- Light Rock, a light American pilsner
- Rivalry IPA
- Hop 100, a session IPA
- Yeastie Boy, a hazy IPA
- C-Worthy, an imperial IPA
- Barbarian Pale Ale
- Highland Campfire, a Scottish ale
- Strong Silent Type, a Belgian blonde
- Old King Kong, an American brown ale
- Cockadoodle-Moo!, a coffee oatmeal milk stout
- Boondocks, an Irish stout
- Strawberry Skip Day, a wheat ale with strawberries
- Deez Coconuts, a pineapple coconut cream ale
Hub City recently began distributing its beers in the Memphis area through Eagle Distributing. That means in addition to finding these beers at Rock’n Dough, some will also be available locally at Kroger and other stores.
