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More than 200 brewers showcase their beer at Bruegala
By Bridget Flynn
bflynn@pantagraph.com
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BLOOMINGTON -- Bruegala, the eighth annual festival of international beer, featured a brew made specifically for the event. | VIDEO: Local home brewer pours a winner

Chad Beavers brewed a Pale American Wheat Ale especially for the festival and named it “Bruegala’s Best.”

It was a light beer with a large head of foam, which he attributed to the wheat.

It is common, said Beavers, an officer in Abnormal Brewers, for home brewers to include a good deal of wheat in their beers.

Abnormal Brewers, an association for Bloomington-Normal home brewers, was a co-sponsor of Bruegala, which was Friday and Saturday at the Interstate Center.

The brew fest brought beers from more than 200 breweries so that beer lovers could enjoy their drinks and listen to six bands while raising funds for a good cause.

Proceeds from this year’s Bruegala will go to the Community Health Care Clinic in Normal, which provides medical services to McLean County residents who are under or uninsured.

The Bloomington-Normal Jaycees organized the event and sponsored it with 14 other organizations.

“We are excited about these types of fundraisers,” said Shirley Drazewski, executive director of the clinic. She was speaking at the table where she was to pour various Guinness and Harp beers. Drazewski said proceeds from the fest will fund the payroll of the clinic’s eight paid employees.

“It’s a real nice crowd,” said Mike Walters, Midwest sales manager of Left Hand Brewing Co. in Longmont, Colo.

Walters was pouring samples of several beers, including one named, Haystack Wheat, which had a banana and nutmeg taste that he said is due to live yeast that is 1,000 years old.

He said their top seller is Sawtooth, an extra special bitter beer that he said the New York Times ranked the No. 1 extra special bitter beer in the world, although the British specialize in such brews.

A chipotle porter beer was among those poured by Abnormal Brewers. The chipotle porter, a dark beer with a subtle pepper flavor, was brewed by John Chubick of Bloomington.

Chubick said he added smoked jalapenos to the beer during its second fermentation. Chubick won the Destihl Restaurant and Brew Works home brew competition in March with his Hood Sisters Cream Ale.

Participants in the event found plenty to sample and some interesting packages to purchese.

“We’re just kind of getting started,” said Cory Stocking, 22, of Normal, who was attending the event with a friend, Jesse Deskeere, 24, also of Normal.

They sampled Left Hand earlier, attracted by the logo of a red hand, but had moved on to Gosser, a dark Austrian beer.

They each purchased the “Baron’s Wedding” package, which includes about 20 beer samples for $15. Baron von Bruegala is the fictional German founder of the fest. Other packages are the Baron’s Hunting Expedition (12 samples) Baron’s Nightcap (six samples) and Baron’s Mouthwash (one sample).
Take a look
Left Hand Brewing Company's Lindsey Walters, left, of Peoria, pours a glass of their Haystack beer to Cory Stocking, right, while his friend Jesse DeSkeere, left, both from Normal, looks on during the Brew Ha Ha Fest at the Interstate Center in Bloomington Saturday night (September 6, 2008). (Pantagraph/B Mosher)
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Reader comments on this story - 11 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

bevoduz wrote on Sep 8, 2008 2:42 PM:

" As a planner of Bruegala, perhaps I can shed some light on comments here. The Community Health Care Clinic was chosen from a list of several local organizations the Bloomington Normal Jaycees wanted to help. Organizations are normally very appreciative of groups like the Bloomington Normal Jaycees stepping up to help them out. We did work on advertising, but as mentioned, it does cost money, and unfortunately this year we did not have a large advertising budget. Radio Bloomington Sponsored the event and ran commercials and commented on Bruegala On-Air frequently on all 4 of their stations 2 weeks prior to the event, and did live broadcasting on Friday. Mark your calendars now for Bruegala 2009, we're shooting for the weekend after labor day. Keep an eye on www.bruegala.com for more fun videos of the Baron, dates, breweries that will be present, etc... "

RANTIPOLE wrote on Sep 7, 2008 11:35 AM:

" Spanky: Actually the even went quite well so "poor planning" for this event is not quite true. as for advertising, it costs money! "

pitdogg wrote on Sep 7, 2008 10:51 AM:

" gee people get a clue it's been going on for about 6yrs. now. Do you not listen to any radio? here's a clue for next year. The first of march start looking at the peoria jaycee's site for the announcment for the Peoria beerfest which is MUCH BETTER than the Bloomington fest. Then in August start looking at the Bloomington Jaycee's website for the announcment for the Bloomington beerfest OR LISTEN to the radio they gave away tickets to both. "

lolo60 wrote on Sep 7, 2008 10:44 AM:

" its still going on today and it was in the paper , i read it thurday .....go its a lot of fun... "

Spanky wrote on Sep 7, 2008 8:43 AM:

" Poor planning and advertising again for the 2nd or 3rd straight year! Lets try and do better next year people!! "

RANTIPOLE wrote on Sep 7, 2008 8:41 AM:

" Victorian Girl: Beer in moderation is both a great source of nutrition and an enjoyable experience as well. There is no mixed message only ill-informed opinions about beer and alcohol in general. "

Country Girl wrote on Sep 7, 2008 6:15 AM:

" We used to go when it was at the sale barn but haven't been for 3 years either. We enjoyed it and would have gone but alas its over "

Dr.Orangutan Chief Cardiologist Miller Park Zoo wrote on Sep 7, 2008 6:14 AM:

" Did you know that Mahomet, IL rhymes with Vomit,Il "

Max Sniler wrote on Sep 7, 2008 12:08 AM:

" Agreed - I used to hear about it and went for a few years in a row at the Sale Barn. I got caught by surprise again and its over....I haven't been in 3 years in a row now because it isn't well advertized. "

Victorian Girl wrote on Sep 6, 2008 11:35 PM:

" Is it just me, or does anyone else find it funny that beer was used as a fundraiser for the community health care center?? Seems like a mixed message to me! "

alexp wrote on Sep 6, 2008 9:35 PM:

" Why is there never any advance notice of these events? At least in a more prominent manner so those of us that are interested could go? Pointless getting the news after the fact. "
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