The Humble Gourmand

Recently, Brew had the pleasure of attending the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s 5th Annual Brewer’s Ball, a fundraising event to benefit the foundation. The event sounded suspiciously oxymoronic — just imagine hundreds of gown- and suit- clad ladies and gentlemen in a grandiose ballroom, not sipping Champagne and nibbling on caviar but guzzling beer and tearing into barbecue sandwiches. This was definitely my kind of scene, though — I donned a blazer and got to it.

With 16 breweries present, there was no paucity of samples. Everywhere I looked was another brewery: many of the big area names — Old Dominion, District Chophouse, Capitol City, Clipper City. And the food! There was barbecue, carved meats, and a wonderful spread from Mamma Lucia’s, a local Italian chain.

This year’s event seemed very successful. Everyone had a great time — for some reason people were smiling more as the night went on. The organizers seemed to enjoy themselves, too. Between a sell-out crowd, donations, and the silent auction that went on (brilliant! people being offered fabulous trips and swag while drinking will enter furious bidding wars!), the event raised $225,000 to help find a cure for cystic fibrosis, according to Kris Petren, the foundation’s special events coordinator. “We are always very pleased to have people so excited about Brewer’s Ball and the CF Foundation despite any economic woes they may be feeling,” he said.

My only complaint was that there weren’t enough brewers present. The roster was mostly representatives from breweries, as well as some volunteers who didn’t seem to know much about the beers they were serving. This wasn’t the case all around, by any means — two of my favorite beers at the Ball were well-represented by their brewers: Tupper’s Deep Pockets and Williamsburg Alewerks. The former was poured by that legendary brewing couple, Bob and Ellie Tupper. They seemed happy to be at it again, pouring their own beer again after a too-long hiatus. The beer itself was delicious, a hoppy, rich IPA that lived up to its name.

The latter brewery, Williamsburg Alewerks, poured a wonderful golden IPA and a dark and delicious coffee porter.

Geoff Logan, the brewer, accompanied his beers from their brewhome just down south in Williamsburg, Va., and was very generous with both brewing tips and cup-filling. I enjoyed his beers so much that I might just have to make a pilgrimage to Williamsburg to check out the operation.

Said Mr. Petren: “It has truly become an event that people want to attend for both the cause and in order to enjoy the event for what it is, a high-quality beer festival in a prime downtown location.” I’ll gladly suit up again for the cause in 2010.

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