Bottle share raises $3K for Railroad Square, food for Second Harvest | Brew Bend

Danny Aller
·5 min read

We came. We saw. We laughed. We reflected. We drank. We ate. We drank some more. And we raised a lot of money for folks in our community who really need it.

That was pretty much how our latest Charity Bottleshare went in a nutshell!

TLH Beer Society held a bottle share fundraiser at South Station in Downtown Tallahassee on May 18, 2024, to help raise money for the businesses in Railroad Square that were hit hardest by the recent Tallahassee tornadoes.
TLH Beer Society held a bottle share fundraiser at South Station in Downtown Tallahassee on May 18, 2024, to help raise money for the businesses in Railroad Square that were hit hardest by the recent Tallahassee tornadoes.

Last Saturday, well over 100 people gathered at South Station in Downtown Tallahassee to help raise money for the businesses in Railroad Square that were hit hardest by the recent Tallahassee tornadoes. People showed up with cash, cold beer in hand, and many even brought a food donation for our friends at Second Harvest of the Big Bend.

And when the dust settled? We raised a grand total of $3,158 for our friends in RRSQ — making it one of our most successful charity bottle shares in the five-year history of doing these.

Last Saturday, well over 100 people gathered at South Station in Downtown Tallahassee to help raise money for the businesses in Railroad Square that were hit hardest by the recent Tallahassee tornadoes.
Last Saturday, well over 100 people gathered at South Station in Downtown Tallahassee to help raise money for the businesses in Railroad Square that were hit hardest by the recent Tallahassee tornadoes.

Some of the highlights of the evening included several of the Railroad Square businesses themselves coming and setting up in the beer garden and selling their products, while the food served by Mobi Street Food and Autrey's BBQ was incredible. Shoutout to Chefs Viet, Brandon and Chris for such an amazing spread, and we encourage you to go see them each Friday when they do a pop-up lunch with an ever-changing menu.

We also got a visit from Will Crowley, the local resident who helped start the RRSQ GoFundMe, which officially crossed $20,000 raised following our donation to it.

Food served by Mobi Street Food and Autrey's BBQ at the TLH Beer Society bottle share to benefit the businesses of Railroad Square on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
Food served by Mobi Street Food and Autrey's BBQ at the TLH Beer Society bottle share to benefit the businesses of Railroad Square on Saturday, May 18, 2024.

And the final highlight was that in addition to all the money that was raised, we also saw an ENTIRE truckload-worth of non-perishable food items donated to Second Harvest, which was the original benefactor of this charity bottleshare a few weeks ago before the tornadoes hit.

But after the storm passed, Second Harvest graciously agreed to switch the fundraiser to RRSQ — while we still asked folks to bring in food donations. And they responded in a big way. Seeing all that food at the end of the night in addition to the money donated was truly something else. Gotta love this community, man!

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported the event — and especially Liam's Restaurant in Thomasville, T'Velo Brewing (also in Thomasville) and Pete Evarts, former owner of the Crum Box Gastgarden in Railroad Square. Liam's and T'Velo both rallied support in Thomasville for the event and donated $500 and $200, respectively, to the fundraiser, along with lots of great beers.

In addition to all the money that was raised for Railroad Square at the May 18, 2024, bottle share, an truckload of non-perishable food items was donated to Second Harvest.
In addition to all the money that was raised for Railroad Square at the May 18, 2024, bottle share, an truckload of non-perishable food items was donated to Second Harvest.

And Pete came out and sold his locally famous sausage seasoning called "Weiner Rub," then donated ALL the proceeds to the donation bucket — nearly $400 in all — to his former business neighbors and still good friends in RRSQ.

It never gets old seeing these bottleshares do so much good - and we can't wait for the next one! Thank you again, Tallahassee!

Forgotten Coast set to open in late June

The next craft brewery coming to our area - Forgotten Coast Brewing - is gearing up to open in late June, 2024, at their location at 4101 Highway 98 in Mexico Beach.
The next craft brewery coming to our area - Forgotten Coast Brewing - is gearing up to open in late June, 2024, at their location at 4101 Highway 98 in Mexico Beach.

The next craft brewery coming to our area — Forgotten Coast Brewing — is gearing up to open in late June at their location at 4101 Highway 98 in Mexico Beach.

We don't know the exact date just yet — you'll need to stay tuned to their social media for the official announcement — but we do know it's gonna be a long-awaited party, complete with food, music, a ribbon-cutting and a chance to taste the very first batches of Forgotten Coast beer brewed by them on their new system. (They've been producing beer up until now through contract brewing and white-labeling)

The opening will be the first of three planned locations for Forgotten Coast — the second of which will be in Port St. Joe, followed by an eventual third in Apalachicola.

We wish them the best of luck and can't wait to go down and visit them in a little over a month!

Ology, Piggly Wiggly collab on a beer

The Piggly Wiggly on St. George Island, affectionately referred to as "The Blue Store," announced this week that had collaborated on a beer with Ology. The name of the beer is "The Blue Pig" and it's a blonde ale.
The Piggly Wiggly on St. George Island, affectionately referred to as "The Blue Store," announced this week that had collaborated on a beer with Ology. The name of the beer is "The Blue Pig" and it's a blonde ale.

We're gonna stay on the Forgotten Coast for this final note this week because our friends at Ology have done something super cool with one of St. George Island's most legendary businesses.

The Piggly Wiggly on St. George Island — a spot most of us affectionately refer to as "The Blue Store" — announced this week that had collaborated on a beer with Ology. The name of the beer is "The Blue Pig" and it's a blonde ale — and the design is super cool, featuring the Piggly Wiggly's famous pig mascot wearing a blue and white striped outfit, a butcher's apron and waving. Just like the statue in front of the store.

But if you wanna try this little piece of local craft beer history, you're gonna need to go to the island or Ology to get it because it can only be exclusively found at the Piggly Wiggly just over the bridge as you come onto the island or at any of Ology's three taprooms in Tallahassee.

We asked Ology co-founder Nick Walker how the collab came about, and he told us: "Honestly, they asked and we said absolutely. They've been a massive institution (for years) and it just made sense."

The style choice is also interesting because blonde ales are rare in Ology's insanely large catalog of beer recipes. In fact, they've only brewed one other blonde before this one in their nearly 7-year history - Problem Solver, which was one of the original beers they opened with in 2017.

We can't wait to snag a 4-pack of The Blue Pig!

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.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Bottle share raises $3K for Railroad Square, food for Second Harvest