A good time was had, $5,555 donated at TLH Beer Society 5-year birthday bash | Brew Bend
Sing it with us now: "Ohhh, WHAAATTT a niiiigghhhtttt!"
That was the first song that popped in our heads when we woke up on the morning — errrr, afternoon — of Sunday, Aug. 7, after the TLH Beer Society's 5-Year Birthday Bash at The Space At Feather Oaks the night before.
Seriously, WHAT. A. NIGHT!
Tallahassee, Wakulla, Franklin, Thomasvillle, Marianna, Valdosta, Panama City, Bainbridge, Havana, Blountstown, Lake City, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Orlando, Tampa — you ALL showed up and you showed OUT!
In fact, the turnout (over 1,000 people, we estimated) far exceeded our hopes and dreams — but in a great way — and turned a party we had no idea what to expect when we announced it a month ago, into a day and night to remember.
The beer and food
In all, we had 16 local breweries donate to the event for a total of 20 different beers for attendees to try — marking the first time in the history of our beer scene that such an event took place with that many all-local breweries involved. And we'll list each one and what beers they donated in just a second — because you have to SEE this lineup to believe it.
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We also welcomed several food vendors, including Tally Mac Shack, who gave away 220 free 5-oz. boxes of mac in honor of our "5-Year Birthday." Tally Mac Shack has been one of our biggest supporters almost since Day 1, and they represented in a big way by warming up the crowd with their hot, gourmet macs.
Also on hand was RyRys BBQ, 88 Crepes, Oyster Mom, TC Bakery and BK's SnowKone Factory, all of whom offered a $5 special — again, in honor of our 5-year milestone. We even had Rankin Tacos and Red Shed donate some food for the early-arrivers, which — given it was an unlimited sampling event — is always welcome.
And we can't tell each of these local businesses how much we appreciate them, and we hope they know we couldn't have pulled this off without them.
The music
And then there was the music by 16-year Quincy musician Ben Flournoy, who — in our humble opinion — won't be living in North Florida long. You really have to see this kid live and in person to appreciate his talent — and that of his bandmates Ryan Stidam and Marlon Williams.
This trio rocked the house all night, despite the constant threat of rain — which stayed away except for about 10 minutes of the event. We were super blessed in that regard and we hope all your radar-watchers who DIDN'T come for fear you "might get a little wet" have learned your lesson! Don't even doubt us — we party rain or shine, baby!
And this past Saturday, this entire party shined bright thanks to what it represented in terms of how far this "craft beer society thing" has come — and all the good we have been able to do in the local community over the last five years.
The fundraiser
That, of course, was on display once again as we used the night and centerstage to make our largest single-fundraiser donation in the history of our group.
We wrote a BIG ol' check this past Saturday for the grand total of $5,555 to the Leon County Humane Society that evening representing the proceeds we pledged to donate when we started the TLH Beer Society Membership Card earlier this year.
The card, for those who may have missed it, sells for $40 each and gives you UNLIMITED perks and deals at 30 different craft breweries, distilleries, restaurants, bars and bottle shops across South Georgia and North Florida for the entire calendar year.
They sold fast, and they sold furious from March 1 — when we first debuted them — until present day. And the result was an all-5s donation for LCHS in honor of our 5-year birthday.
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"This really means a lot to us, you just have no idea," LCHS Executive Director Lisa Glunt said when handed the mic after we presented the check at the party. "There are so many needs at the Humane Society, and so many dogs and cats that need adopting and care, we just really appreciate this. And it's great to be involved with an amazing local group like this. Thank you, Tallahassee Beer Society."
We also made it official that the TLHBS Membership Card would not only become an annual initiative from us — with new deals every year — but we announced that LCHS would become our annual benefactor for the cards, which drew a thunderous applause from the crowd.
LCHS also attended the event and set up their own booth to share information about what they do, as well as brought several adoptable dogs out -- many of whom joined us on stage! That was a really awesome moment.
Back to the breweries
And while all of these aforementioned details are important and made the night what it was, we have to take it back to the beer because — after all — that's why most folks showed up.
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We spent all week collecting donated kegs from our 16 local breweries in and around Tallahassee. And everyone brought some heat! Here's the lineup that was offered:
Proof Brewing Company - Kalani Tiki Sour (orange, pineapple, lime, passion fruit, coconut)
Lake Tribe Brewing Company - Old Chief Extra Special IPA
DEEP Brewing Company - Giant Stride Banana Split Sour
Ology Brewing Company - Destination Paradise NEIPA & Vienna Lager
Fools Fire Brewing Company - Fools Fire Lager
OCBC Tallahassee - Aji Pineapple Pepper Pale Ale
Amicus Brewing Ventures - Transfiguration New England IPA
Civic Brewing Co. - The World's Gone Hazy IPA
Eastpoint Beer Company - Key Lime Pie Sour
Oyster City Brewing Company - Mill Pond Dirty Blonde
Blountstown Beer Company - Kung-Fu Fighting West Coast IPA
Southern Fields Brewing - High Cotton Hazy IPA
Halpatter Brewing Company - THE Watermelon Gose
Salty Oak Brewing Co. - Hype Man Cereal Milk Stout
Georgia Beer Co. - Blueberry Field Party Blonde Ale & Dark 30 Black IPA
Hammerhead Brewing - Tangerine Cider
South Philosophy Brewing - Velvet Wonder Raspberry Belgian Trippel & 2 Paddles Session IPA
Thirsty yet? We are once again! Our breweries crushed it, and it was so great to see so many of them in attendance to support us too. We even saw John Baumeister. founder of the Jacksonville Beer Society and our mentor, in the house. That meant a lot that he drove over to see the kid he helped raise finally all grown up! And shoutout to the Gainesville Beer Society and founder Lisa Bruce, who drove 2 1/2 hours from HogTown to be at the event despite the fact she was leaving for vacation the very next morning. That's some serious society-to-society love right there!
The venue
And how about a hand for our venue — The Space At Feather Oaks. They have BIG plans for that space that involve craft beer -- more on that soon -- but for now we just want to say thank you to the owners and their staff for helping us pull off what (we think) may be the biggest event in its history there.
And guess what? The venue is SO big, and SO spacious, it never once felt like 1,000 people. You better believe we'll be partnering with them again!
Ultimately, Saturday night proved one thing to us: The Tallahassee Beer Society has certainly evolved from a couple of guys making drinking jokes and posting beer pics to so much more.
Seeing all the support shows TLHBS has more than left its mark and become something really special over the last five years — not to mention it has built a community WITHIN a community.
The community
A community that's only growing stronger every day.
When we started our mission to raise the visibility of local craft beer in the Summer of 2017, we simply wanted "Tallahassee to win" — and 5 years later, we think it's safe to say it has.
Cheers to local beer and supporting small businesses, y'all. For real. And thanks to all who came out.
Wanna do it again next year? And the year after that? After how much fun we had Saturday — think we just might.
Danny Aller is the co-founder, along with Matthew Crumbaker, of the TLH Beer Society. Reach the Beer Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or email: tlhbeersociety@gmail.com.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TLH Beer Society donates $5,555 to Leon County Humane Society
