Trying to make a difference – Part Two

On Friday 4 March 2010, the Brewer’s Guild of New Zealand and the Society of Beer Advocates organised six simultaneous events in Wellington, Auckland, Hamilton, Dunedin, Nelson and Blenheim to raise money for Christchurch Earthquake relief efforts. These events were on top of fund-raisers done by individual bars and breweries such as Galbraith’s, Hashigo Zake and Malthouse.

The format for each event was similar – a 5pm kick-off, a minutes silence at 7pm, a charity auction/raffle and a toast to Christchurch. Many of the Christchurch beer community were at their own function at the time – Beers and Tears – having a much needed pint together. For each event, breweries, suppliers, venues and bars generously donated products and prizes which were snapped up by often bigger than expected crowds.

The Wellington event was hosted by long-time friend Tuatara friend James Henderson at Bar Edward and organised by Kieran Haslett-Moore who sure sells a lot of Tuatara at Regional Wines. We were keen to be involved and donated four prizes. The first was a voucher for two to spend a day brewing with our own Carl Vasta at Reikorangi. When bidding slowed, the auctioneer promised that Carl would be wearing his shorts which provoked a flurry of (mainly female) bids. That prize also included transport, lunch and, we expect, a few beers.

We also put up three mixed packs of Tuatara beers which all included some great Tuatara merchandise. We even gave up three of the legendary Tuatara bar runners which have not been available to the public before, at least not legally. We were delighted at the prices all these items obtained from a very generous crowd of beer fans. In all, the Wellington event raised a brilliant $6,334.

There are a lot of people who did a lot of work to make this event succeed and we were proud to have played a part. Thanks have to go to the organisers – the Brewer’s Guild, SOBA, Kieran Haslett-Moore, James Henderson, Bar Edward and Neil Miller. Thanks also to the sponsors and those who donated auction items – Regional Wines, Logan Brown, Malthouse, Hashigo Zake, Emerson’s, Mikes, Renaissance, Moa, Coopers, Yeastie Boys, 8Wired, Elite Print, Beer Force, West Coast Brewing, Beer Force, McCashin’s and us!

Above all, thanks to all the generous members of the beer community who did plenty of good things for a good cause on the night.

Here’s to Christchurch!

Cheers from the team at Tuatara