I know it is a little late, and I already had a post about this, but I wanted to make sure that all involved got their due. So, better late than never, here it goes.

The event went extremely well. I was very happy & satisfied with the turnout. The volunteers from our various groups  http://groups.google.com/group/beermalt?hl=en

http://malt.donavanhall.net/

http://thebeerhall.ning.com/

http://www.hbd.org/beer/
and the Rotary showed up early, and set up, after a few small confusing moments went smooth & quick. I particularly would like to thank Chris K. & the others who showed up the earliest & worked so hard to get things in order.

A special Thank you to my wife Dawn. If she had not come & helped out at the Raffle table, I would have never been able to get out from behind the table to try some beer & food, and I would have had a tough time emceeing the event.

A big thank you to the www.bellportcountryclub.com for their hospitality & giving us a deal on the room, so more of the money raised could go to the charities.

Thank you to all of the wonderful restaurants for providing the delicious food, and their time.

Porters on the lane
Meritage
Avinos Italian table
The Bellport
South Country Inn
Pine Grove Inn
Chachama Grill
Sicilia D'Oro
and our hosts
The Bellport Country Club!

A thank you to our musical guests the Billy C Trio  http://www.myspace.com/thebillyctrio and our own, or Bellports own, Wayne Caldicott, A.K.A. Coach Wayne, or Calle.
The music was great, and was perfect for the event!


Thank you to all of the beer companies involved
Union Beer
Global distributors
Arcadia
Ithaca
Captain Lawrence
Thomas Hooker
Sierra Nevada
Southern Tier
Lions Head
Jolly Pumpkin
Brooklyn Brewery
Samuel Adams
Captain Lawrence
Magic Hat
Butternuts
Heavy Seas (Clipper City)
Lefebvre
Stoudts
North Coast
Uinta
21st Amendment
Dogfish Head
And Long Islands Own
Fire Island Brewery
Blind Bat
Long Ireland
Blue Point
Greenport Harbor
With a special thank you to Josh, of Sam Adams, for providing us with all of those prizes to raffle off!!!!!!



And this is our man, Rich Thatcher, and his wonderful take on things.
Beer publications, this man should be writing for you!!

The Hoppy Success of a Charity Beer Tasting

 

 

In the colorful luxury of the esteemed Bellport Country Club, which has become a well- known location for catered events and wedding receptions, the Bellport Rotary Club held its Second Annual Benefit for Camp Paquatuck  (Summer camp for disabled children), The Gift Of Life, and Bellport High School scholarships on Thursday August 13, 2009.  The event was created as a craft beer tasting paired with special menu selections from the best restaurants in the Bellport and Patchogue vicinity. The idea was for anyone wanting to attend could do so for a nominal ticket price of $35 prior to show time and $40 at the door, which was an incredible price considering the outstanding menu choices and the surprises contained within.

 

Under the able leadership of the always-entertaining Dave Schultzer, the owner of Bellport Cold Beer & Soda, the Bellport Rotary club succeeded in assembling twenty craft beer companies and local restaurant stations in an alternating pattern around the perimeter of two adjoining rooms.  

 

What made the assembly so special was the prescience of both the chefs and/or owners from the contributing restaurants and a sampling of brew masters from the donating breweries. When the brew masters were not available from the donating breweries, their unique beers were poured and presented by the well-versed Long Island Beer & Malt Enthusiasts, who provided volunteers for the event. In the mix of tables, one could see the jovial Dan and Greg of the new Long Ireland Brewery of Port Jefferson happily pouring their new Raspberry Wheat Ale, while Paul of The Blind Bat Brewery of Centerport, NY was pouring his dark and sinister Hell Smoke Porter. In the next room, Rich from the new Greenport Harbor Brewery was pouring his hearty Disorient IPA, which made a superb pairing with the slow cooked pork in a brown sauce with polenta topped with a creamy vegetable puree from The Bellport restaurant.

 

As the large crowd filtered into the brightly lit room in the early evening and began surveying the abundant choices of both food and craft beer, the question of where to start must have slowed them down for a moment. Every unique display of food had a suggestion sheet of at least two complimenting beers or ales from nearby tables for visitors to complete the selection. Chafing dishes smoldered while keeping their chef’s creations warm for the guests and a smokin’ acoustic blues band provided background music to feast with.  

 

The crowd must have surmised that the generous donating breweries were also among the best-known in the beer business with full line ups from Blue Point, Brooklyn, Sierra Nevada, Butternuts, Ithaca, Dogfish Head, Jolly Pumpkin, and Sam Adams (just to name a few). It appeared the crowd was also familiar with most of the great restaurants on hand such as Meritage, Sicilia D’oro, Avino’s Italian Table, Porters on the Lane, The Pine Grove Inn, Chachama, and the hosting facility, The Bellport Country Club.

 

The evening progressed in very social manner with many of the guests taking up temporary residence with friends at the many dressed tables so that they could venture into new plates and ample tastes of craft beers they had not tasted before. The occasional pause in the band’s sets allowed the director of the show to make sporadic announcements as to which lucky guest won one of the many raffle items on display in the center of the first room. One could see neighbors making introductions and meeting new guests as they arrived.

 

With the ample supplies of served food exhausted and the taps running low at the end of the festive evening, the success of event was apparent with many smiling faces departing The Bellport Country Club as the clock chimed ten o’clock. Into the darkness they passed with memories of the great evening supported by eager volunteers for just causes that need a little help from their friends.