The 2nd Annual Big Bend BrewFest on March 16 in nearby Perry was born out of something simple.

“I’m a big fan of craft beer and beer fests, and I was looking for fundraising opportunities – so a BrewFest was kind of the perfect marriage,” said Dawn Taylor, president of the Taylor County Chamber of Commerce and event organizer.

While she wasn't sure if Taylor County would be receptive to a festival where craft beer was the focus, Dawn and her team set out a year ago — with a bit of trepidation — to bring Perry its first craft beer festival. Having Tri-Eagle Sales, a leading beverage wholesaler in North Florida, on board certainly aided Taylor in acquiring 10 breweries pouring more than 60 different beers for the first-time event.

Throw in a serene setting — it's held at Perry's picturesque Rosehead Park — some incredible weather and an affordable price, and the makings for a huge success were there.

We ask the host breweries to choose the benefactor for each event, and Lake Tribe chose the Tallahassee Chapter of the Alzheimer's Project, which provides comfort, support, and assistance to persons with memory disorders and their caregivers across the Big Bend area. The Alzheimer’s Project is a nonprofit organization funded by grants and private donations, and many of the services are delivered through volunteers.

A great cause and reason enough to come, right? Well, Lake Tribe decided to up the ante by recruiting Rankin Tacos food truck to be on-site so folks don't go hungry, and they even hired local Tallahassee band South of Echo to perform for guests during the event.

If you've lived in Tallahassee long enough, you know that Proof Brewing Company is about as synonymous with the capital city these days as the state Capitol building itself.

Which is why Tally's O.G. craft brewery opening its third location in just seven years – simply because they keep outgrowing their previous spots — isn't just big news in the local craft beer community.

Social media was set ablaze recently with people participating in the #10YearChallenge.

The premise was to post a picture of yourself 10 years ago side-by-side with a recent one and show how have you aged.

A picture of the area’s craft beer scene 10 years ago might have shown craft beer bar Leon Pub, maybe 2008’s new spot Fermentation Lounge, or even mentioned the now-defunct Buckhead Brewery.

A few weeks ago on our Facebook page, we shared a meme that was pretty popular. It read: "People who say you're hard to shop for must not know where to buy beer."

So that got us thinking: With Christmas less than two weeks away, why not lead off our next column with some gift ideas for that craft beer lover in your life?

As Tallahassee's biggest brewery, Proof stays pretty busy. But the rest of 2018 is going to be nuts.

If there's a local craft beer event the rest of the year, Proof will be there...