The St. Marys Area United Way has teamed up with local home brewers and area distributors for its Craft Beer Tasting event to raise money for the organization’s annual campaign.
The event, which will feature an array of home brews and unique distributor varieties, will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. May 3 at The Highlands, formerly the St. Marys Country Club.
Attendees may pick and choose what to sample from at least 80 different beers being offered at various stations, according to St. Marys Area United Way director Kris Kronenwetter.
Kronenwetter said on Monday afternoon that although she’s generally “not a beer drinker,” she is looking forward to the event which has engendered much excitement in the city.
The beer fest will feature eight to 10 distributors and around 15 home brewers, according to Andy Schlimm, who is spearheading the home brewers component of the event. Schlimm said brewers are coming from locations around the region such as St. Marys, Emporium and Brockway.
Kronenwetter said participating distributors include Crescent Beer, Glenwood Beer, St. Marys Beverage and Ottos of State College. There will be between 60 and 70 different beers from the distributors and about 26 different home brews, she said.
Around 15 different breweries are donating beers, including Magic Hat, Dogfish Head, Bells, Saranac, Blue Point, Bar Harbor, Anderson Valley, Oskar Blues and Pennsylvania Ciders such as Keewayden and Jack’s.
“Of course, Straub Brewery is going to be there, too,” Kronenwetter said. “They’re a very big supporter of this event.”
Local restaurants, Casali’s and Gunner’s, will be judging the home brews, and Straub Brewery will be making small batches of the top two to be sold at the eateries at a future date for more United Way campaign fundraising, according to Kronenwetter.
“That’s something that Straub offered to do,” she said. “It’s kind of neat because the winners get featured in a restaurant and then it keeps the fundraising going on our end.”
Schlimm said the home brewers are pretty excited about the opportunity. “That’s kind of a dream that everyone has is to get one of their beers on tap in a restaurant. Everyone’s looking forward to that,” he said.
“Straub’s had the ability to make a little larger batch size than someone could at home and take it in a restaurant style keg — they’re well-equipped to do it,” Schlimm added. “Straub is very supportive of any community event. They’ve been wonderful help.”
He said the event came together over Christmas when his sister-in-law, Margie Schlimm, a United Way board member, was tasting pumpkin brews at his home.
“We just got to thinking that it would make a good fundraiser. I think the response has been much better than I anticipated,” he said, admitting that craft beer isn’t much of a hard sell. “The whole general area seems to be very receptive to brewing up their beer and putting it on tap to let people have a taste and get some feedback on it.”
Kronenwetter said after a couple months of work and figuring out all the details, the event is coming together on schedule.
“As it gets closer people are getting more involved and excited about it,” Kronenwetter said. “It’s something different, and we keep getting calls from people that want to be part of it, but I think we’ve drawn the line for taking more participants.”
She said since this is the first year they’re holding it, they don’t have a specific fundraising target established, but she is hoping to raise around $3,000 or $4,000.
“We are a little limited on space, but (The Highlands) is just a beautiful location for this,” Schlimm said. “It should make for a really nice night.”
Advance tickets are $30 and only 300 will be sold — any left will be sold at the door, according to Kronenwetter. She said designated driver tickets will be sold for $10 at the door only.
“The tickets are going fast, but they can still be purchased at the United Way office, St. Marys Beverage and Pam Schlimm’s Beauty Salon or from any committee member,” Schlimm said.
