HYPERLOCAL NEWS HUB BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM
Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest Mixes Brews and Hi-Tech
By Christina Holloway/MicroMemphis Reporter
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - October 9, 2012
If you plan to attend the Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest this weekend, get your smart phones ready. The 2012 event will be held Saturday, October 13 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will feature beers from brewers around the region. In addition to attending the festivities, people can have the fest at their fingertips. The app, created by Beerfest committee member Josh Spickler, was made from guidebook.com. He said that he checked the website out, messed around with it, and eventually the other committee members liked it. However, at the end of his process, he found out that he couldn't use all of the features without paying an extra fee. Although this Guidebook app-creator has certain limitations— like 200 downloads and only one custom list— Spickler decided to take a further step and contacted someone at the company about it. |
"I was really bummed. It couldn't hurt to ask... so I sent them an email," Spickler said.
Spickler eventually recieved an email from someone at the company who, fortunately, liked beer. Guidebook wanted to diversify the customer base, so they also gave him an upgrade to 500 downloads.
The app includes the brewers, descriptions of their beers, an option to purchase tickets, links to Facebook and Twitter and a to-do list of beers to try. Beer fans can download the app now by getting the guidebook.com app, and searching for "Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest." Once they do that, they can then find the beers they want to try and create a checklist to complete throughout the event.
"We're still tweaking it, and we'll probably tweak it up until Saturday," Spickler said.
Andy Ashby, chairman of the C-Y Regional Beerfest, said that they wanted to give people an option to learn about different types of beers.
"We're all about beer education," he said. "If you want to learn more, you have that option— this application gives you that option.
Some of the information was found off of the brewer's websites, but other information was sent directly to them. Spickler, a tech-savvy lawyer, was great for the job.
"We let him run with it. He's done a great job of taking ownership of it," Ashby said.
Relevant Links:
Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest Facebook Event Page
Online Ticket Sales Page
MicroMemphis coverage of 2011 Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest
Spickler eventually recieved an email from someone at the company who, fortunately, liked beer. Guidebook wanted to diversify the customer base, so they also gave him an upgrade to 500 downloads.
The app includes the brewers, descriptions of their beers, an option to purchase tickets, links to Facebook and Twitter and a to-do list of beers to try. Beer fans can download the app now by getting the guidebook.com app, and searching for "Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest." Once they do that, they can then find the beers they want to try and create a checklist to complete throughout the event.
"We're still tweaking it, and we'll probably tweak it up until Saturday," Spickler said.
Andy Ashby, chairman of the C-Y Regional Beerfest, said that they wanted to give people an option to learn about different types of beers.
"We're all about beer education," he said. "If you want to learn more, you have that option— this application gives you that option.
Some of the information was found off of the brewer's websites, but other information was sent directly to them. Spickler, a tech-savvy lawyer, was great for the job.
"We let him run with it. He's done a great job of taking ownership of it," Ashby said.
Relevant Links:
Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest Facebook Event Page
Online Ticket Sales Page
MicroMemphis coverage of 2011 Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest
Christina Holloway covers culture, events and nightlife for MicroMemphis
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You can follow her on Twitter @ceholloway12