On Saturday afternoon, the Portage Township YMCA helped to close out the brew festival season with a fest of their own. It was the inaugural Witches Brew, a beer tasting event with proceeds going back to the YMCA's annual campaign.
"The YMCA hands out scholarships every year to people who are unable to come to the Y on their own so we do a lot of financial assistance," Chris Aungst, CEO at Portage Township YMCA said. "The funds will go to help kids and families come and be part of the Y."
The event began at Woodland Park with a VIP hour at noon. Those who purchased VIP tickets got an hour of tasting and fun all to themselves plus line jumping privileges, a catered meal, a commemorative pilsner glass, and premier seating. Afterward, those with general admission tickets got to join in the festivities.
There was a lot to take part in. The main event was the beers on tap, of which there were many.
Here were all of the brews that guests had at their fingertips: Brooklyn, North Coast Brewing, J.K. Scrumpy, Rogue, Southern Tier, Schlafly, Magic Hat, Boston Beer, New Belgium, Blue Moon, Pabst, Guinness, Vander Mill, Shady Creek, Shiner Bock, Strongbow, Hop City, Sun King, Bell's, Dark Horse, Dogfish Head, Duvel/ommegang, Oskar Blues, Virtue, Leinenkugel, Triton.
There was also live music, a silent auction, food, fun extras, and even a live solo acoustic performance by Chad Clifford of the Craw Puppies and Front Porch Music.
Janice Ryba, CEO of St. Mary Medical Center CEO and Portage Township YMCA and Janis Regnier, Portage YMCA Board President were among the many guests at the Witches Brew. Each had great things to say about the event and the reason behind it.
"We have a strong partnership with the Y and we really want to support the organization," Ryba said. "It's a fantastic cause here in Portage and we're happy to be here."
"We like to support the community and this is a great way to cap things for our campaign fundraising," Regnier said. "Every dime raised here goes right back to the Y so it directly benefits the children."
Sponsors for the event: St. Mary Medical Center; McEuen Law Office; Organizational Development Solutions, Inc.; Horan Crushing & Screening; Precision Towing, Inc.; Craighead, Lange, and Hough, PC; First State Bank of Porter; Portage Car Wash; Midwest Family Federal Credit Union; Bunch Jewelers; Vega Chemicals; Reeder's Auto Service Center.