Tally brewers proud to support SGI Brewfest
The Tallahassee Beer Society is taking the week off and heading to the beach.
For a "working vacation," that is!
Our team is St. George Island-bound to take part in Saturday's 3rd Annual SGI Brewfest at Paddy's Raw Bar, where we'll be joined by six Tallahassee breweries who don't mind making the short trek one bit.
The beneficiary is once again the Franklin County Humane Society, and last year alone the Brewfest raised $28,000 to help combat homeless and neglected animals.
In fact, it's gotten so big, the SGI Brewfest now serves as the primary annual fundraiser for the FCHS. And that's music to the Brewfest committee's ears.
"We're all inveterate animal lovers at the Brewfest, so we're proud to have founded an event that is both super fun and provides a significant amount of the annual operating budget for the Franklin County Humane Society," Amy Hodson, Founder and President of the SGI BrewFest, wrote in an email to the TLH Beer Society. "The SGI Brewfest is now the major fundraiser after the long-running St. George Island Sizzler 5K was retired in 2017, and while Franklin County is a popular vacation destination, you may not realize we are also a small, rural county that faces a real challenge when it comes to homeless or neglected animals. Beer at the beach to benefit our furry friends? It's not too hard to get people on board for that cause!"
And consider Tallahassee's local breweries all-in.
Proof, GrassLands, Deep, Lake Tribe, Ology and Tally Brewing are all headed to the coast Saturday to pour amazing, locally brewed beer, which they've graciously donated to the event once again.
And the list of what they're bringing is impressive, to say the least::
Proof -- Mango Wit Pale Ale and Proof Lager
GrassLands - Guava Gold Blonde Ale and Hopline Bling IPA
Lake Tribe - Satsuma Wheat; Red Cloud IPA
Ology Brewing - Variable #2 French Saison and Sensory Overload New England IPA
Deep -- Spear Pressure Golden Ale; Reef Dweller IPA; SINKO Barrel-Aged Golden Ale (with lime and tangerine); and HabLine -- a version of Deep's SubLime KeyLime Florida Weiss with Habenero peppers
Tally Brewing - Sunset Blonde Ale; SGI Lemon Ginger Gose; Nor'easter Meridian IPA; Panacea Lime Wheat; and Kinhega Lemon Coriander Kolsch
Add in several offerings from Big Bend brewer Oyster City Brewing in Apalachicola -- along with roughly 35 other breweries from around the Southeast -- and it's easy to see why this event sells out every year.
"We keep coming back because it’s such a great event for the local community. We find it incredibly important to support our backyard communities and their local charity organizations, like the Humane Society," Proof Sales & Events Director Bryan Smith said. "St. George Island has been really supportive of our beer. and the SGI Brewfest is a great opportunity for locals in the area that don’t always make it to Tallahassee and that want to try our beer."
Deep owner Ryan LaPete agreed.
"Though it grows every year, it’s still small and intimate, which gives us breweries the chance to interact with more people on a deeper level," LaPete said. "The people we get to interact with at this event are highly likely to end up at our place. You’d be surprised how many people we meet at SGI that live down the street from Deep and didn’t know about us!"
The TLH Beer Society, meanwhile, will be on hand preaching the TLH Beer Gospel with a booth that's part informational, part entertainment.
We'll be armed with copies of the Visit Tallahassee Visitors Guide — with the two-page spread on our local breweries bookmarked — and we'll also unveil our "TLH Beer Wheel," which attendees can spin to win a variety of prizes donated by all the aforementioned breweries and Tallahassee's biggest local craft beer supporters, including Fermentation Lounge, the Brass Tap, Growler Country, 7th Hill Taproom and the Quick & Save bottle shop. And we'll be unveiling our first TLH Beer Society pint glass, which those lucky enough to land on our prize wheel space will take home!
Of course, the TLHBS wasn't "a thing" around this time last year, so we look forward to our first trip and supporting a great cause.
"(All the success) really reflects how community-minded St. George Island, Apalachicola and the Forgotten Coast are, that the SGI Brewfest has been so quickly embraced as a cause by local businesses, brewers, and guests from around the Southeast," Hodson wrote. "And we're committed to keeping it a unique, intimate, destination event while continuing to grow. We'll keep the Island feel you can only get here - and keep having beers you can only get here, too."
Can't make it this year? Then put it on your calendar for 2019. Because this event ain't going anywhere, any time soon!