Beer, quite frankly, gets a bad rap sometimes. It is often associated with low-brow humor and crassness, with boorish behavior and dullards. However, the craft beer revolution that has exploded in the past decade has looked to change all of those perceptions. One great way it has done so is by taking up the banners for causes. This Saturday (June 25) is one of those instances where beer will help support a very worthy cause.
The
Mad Pecker Brewing Company will be the site of the first-ever
Float the Kegs for MS event, which will see the local brewmakers partner up with Team Wingman and the
San Antonio Cerveceros for a very worthy cause. In 2012, Chris Potter, co-captain of
Team Wingman, was diagnosed with multiple
sclerosis. He and his friends decided to band together to raise awareness and support for those living with the disease and their families. Since that time, the group has gone on bike races, runs, obstacle course races, and a multitude of other events to help raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
“We wanted to prove that anything was possible, even with MS,” said Potter. “One member of our team has a contact with the Cerveceros and he was working with them as part of their charity programs. They were great and we decided to continue that relationship and see if we could put on a charity event, raise some money, and drink some beer. What could be better than that?”
The Cerveceros teamed up with Mad Pecker for a special collaboration beer for the event, the Team Wingman Rye Saison. Two kegs of this special beer, a French-style saison dry hopped to provide those lucky enough to partake with a tropical smell and a nice spicy and fruity finish. The beer will be brewed exclusively for the event.
“For us, an event like this is a win-win,” said Jason Gonzales, the Managing Member and Brewer at Mad Pecker. “This event allows us to help out a good group and be more involved in the community. Those are both things that are very important to us here. It also allows us to expose people to what we are doing here at the brewery.”
The brewery will be open at noon and the goal is to sell 396 10-ounce servings of the Team Wingman Rye Saison to float the two kegs; any beer leftover at the end of the evening will be tossed. Beer is available for $6 per serving. Food will be available and Challenge Entertainment will be on-hand with Pub Poll Trivia starting at 1:00pm and raffle tickets will be available for some great prizes.
“We’ve done a lot of fund raisers and we’ve never had as much willingness to do whatever we have needed,” Potter said. “The San Antonio Cerveceros and Mad Pecker have been amazingly cool to work with. Every $6 beer, the money goes back to the National Multiple Sclerorsis Society. I think we have found that most people like to drink, so why not do it for a good cause?”
