Let’s call a spade a spade. (Why we call them spades, I have no idea. But that’s the beauty of the Internet — now I know.)
Mississippi is hurtin’ for beer culture. But culture — that is, that southern gothic mystique — Mississippi is truly “the South’s South.” And at its heart is Oxford, home of Ole Miss and one of the greatest town squares (and indy book store) you done ever saw.

Oxford should have a brewpub. It did, for many years, have the Hoka, a magical, run-down cinema and restaurant space. A restaurant that, natch(ez?), had the best cheesecake ever. And was alcohol-free.
As is Taylor Grocery, ten or so miles out of town. Once a grocery and post office, now a famed catfish spot that fuses quirky charm, great fish, and local music into a distinctly southern experience. Want wine or beer? You can bring it — and you can have a bottle of wine at the table. But that beer better be poured outside of the restaurant in a cup. Southern discretion.

So don’t you go telling me that beer automatically begets culture. (Ding, anyone?) Oxford has culture in spades — a southern beauty and tension so very different than the mish-mash of cultures of urban North Carolina. And some of the best places to see and be in MS have been, and probably in our lifetime will be, alcohol-free.
But a brewpub would be so excellent in Oxford. Yes, it’s a university town with poor town-and-gown relations. Sure, the kids drink too much. But the square, the southern culture, the grown-ups — it’s all there to create a space that locals would flock to and that tourists and visitors would seek out. Problem is, nearly half the counties in Mississippi are dry. From Dr. David Hanson over at Alcohol Problems and Solutions:
Today, almost one-half of the counties in Mississippi are dry with their own prohibition against the production, advertising, sale, distribution, or transportation of alcoholic beverages within their boundaries. It is even illegal to bring alcohol through a dry county in Mississippi while traveling across the country in the process of, for example, moving a personal wine or spirits collection to one’s new residence
The reason for such a high proportion of dry counties is clear: Mississippi is uniquely temperance-oriented. Mississippi imposed state-wide alcohol prohibition in 1907, over a dozen years before the rest of the country. It was the very first state to ratify the 18th Amendment to create National Prohibition. Following national rejection of Prohibition through Repeal, the state maintained its own state-wide prohibition for another one-third of a century. After that, it specifically “reaffirmed prohibition” when it decided to permit local option regarding alcohol.
That’s a lot to overcome.
Thankfully, one Mississippi brewery is making a go of it. And very successfully. Lazy Magnolia in Kiln is developing quite a name for its Amberjacque and Southern Pecan (note: that’s Puh-cahn, not [shudder] Pee-Can). I enjoyed their beers up in Oxford…it’s good to see a coastal brewery getting distribution up in the hills of north Mississippi.
But isn’t there room for at least another brewery? Especially in Oxford, the one place in Mississippi where it should thrive?
Let me know if you’re interested. I may be too, especially if I start getting another hankering for a burger at nearby Phillips Grocery in Holly Springs. Another alcohol-free treasure.
~~
On a sad note, the day after we left Holly Springs, a North Carolina treasure in his own right, Doug Marlette, died in a tragic accident in Holly Springs, on his way down to Oxford. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to the students and teachers at Oxford High School, who will go on and perform Mr. Marlette’s musical, Kudzu.
- More on the passing of Doug Marlette

Posted by Pop The Cap
on Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 10:13 am.
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