Home Brewing Showcase highlights locally made beers Date: 8/3/2017 SPRINGFIELD – By day he’s the assistant managing editor of Reminder Publications, but by night (and weekend) Chris Maza is a dedicated home brewer and beer aficionado.
His love for homebrewing, as well as the craft beer movement, is being used to raise funds for a cause also near and dear to his heart, The Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE). Maza has organized a Homebrew Showcase from 1 to 3 p.m. Aug. 5 at Paddy’s Irish Pub at 1060 Wilbraham Rd. with the proceeds going to MARE.
Maza has worked with Blake Bryan, the manager of Paddy’s, in developing the idea. Bryan has been “very enthusiastic” about the event, he said and added the two men have been talking about organizing a home brewing event for awhile.
“The nice thing about the home brewing and craft beer culture is that it’s built on a lot of collaboration and relationships,” Maza said.
For $15, attendees will be able to sample beers from the following home brewers:
• Drunken Rabbit – two-time winner of The Worthy Brewfest’s homebrew competition;
•Rustic Brewing – fourth place at this year’s Worthy Brewfest and recipient of several honors at The Beer Shop’s Second Annual Homebrew Competition this March including Best in Show and People’s Choice
• Maza’s own Jumping Comet Brewing, winner of the Brown/Amber Ale category at The Beer Shop’s Second Annual Homebrew Competition this March;
• Pilgrim’s Brewing, recipient of the 2014 Brewmaster's Choice at the Connecticut River Brew Fest;
• Dignified Winston Brewing
• Dudleytown Brewing Company
• Clear Headed Brewing;
• Riot Brewery;
• Hamill Brewing Company; and
• Russell Mountain Brewing.
Peppa’s Pizza will be supplying food for the event, and for an extra charge there will also be offerings from Murphy’s Mobile food truck.
A former foster father himself, Maza wanted to do something to support MARE and a representative from MARE will be at the event to answer questions about the organization’s services.
MARE is a private non-profit agency founded in 1957 to find “a permanent place to call home” for children and youth in state foster care. MARE does this by recruiting, educating, supporting and advocating for families throughout the adoption process while targeting recruitment to find families for specific children awaiting adoption. MARE has helped move more than 6,000 children from state foster care to adoptive families. MARE represents harder to place children who have no family with whom they will be placed. There are over 800 children in Massachusetts right now who need assistance to find a loving family. This includes sibling groups and children with special needs.
Maza said, “There is a tremendous need for support for those who work in our foster care system, the foster and pre-adoptive families and, most importantly, those children who are thrust into a system through no fault of their own and just want a safe place to sleep and a family to love. As the popularity of craft beer and home brewing has grown, so has an extensive network of friendly, compassionate, charitable people. This event, we hope, will bring those people together to support some of the most vulnerable in our population and help connect them with the loving families they deserve.”
Attendees will vote on their favorite beers and the brewer with the most votes will win a prize of a handmade trophy, courtesy of East Coast Taps, and a gift card.
Maza hopes to make this an annual event.
For more information on the Homebrew Showcase, visit https://jumpingcometbrewing.wordpress.com/homebrew-showcase/, www.facebook.com/events/343413742740425/ or contact Maza at jumpingcometbrewing@gmail.com
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