The Men of Charity had their biggest Harvest Fest fundraiser night ever this past Saturday at the St. James School gymnasium in Basking Ridge. Over 430 participants sampled beer, tasted wine and enjoyed the German Fest food. Twelve of the best craft brewers in New Jersey were on hand to provide tastings, with 10 local home brewers joining in and challenging for the Best Home Brewer award. There were 43 different micro brews to choose from, ranging from black lagers and brown ales to pumpkin lagers and Belgian golden ales.
Winner of the Home Craft Brewer Award went to local brewers Gregg Marks and Greg Rose for their P.O.T.G. Ale. “Winning was nice, but what was more gratifying was sharing our beer with friends, neighbors, and beer lovers, who seemed to enjoy what we served.” said Greg Rose. “ A lot of people don’t realize how good a homebrewed beer can taste. It’s great to open eyes and expose people to new styles and new tastes.”
Coming in second place was James Foti Jr. and Ed Anderson with their Ohio Crisp Cider. So, what was the secret to the Ohio Crisp Cider? “Using fresh apples that we pressed into cider ourselves. Store bought apple cider has preservatives in it that would prevent fermentation” according to James. Cider is not something you would normally expect at a microbrew tasting, or is it? “I think many people were curious to give hard cider a taste. Those whom enjoyed it found it easy to drink, had a crisp-like apple taste. “ James added.
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In addition to the craft beer and wine from Stirling Fine Wines, there was a tricky tray raffle. “Saturday night’s raffle was our largest, with 31 different raffle items, from a weekend at the Marriot to beer and wine baskets to dinner at the Trap Rock Restaurant”, according to event chairman, Mike Hober. “We want to thank everyone for their generous support, including Marriot, Trap Rock, Café Rustica, and Stirling Fine Wines”.
Food was also a hot item, with German fest foods of all kinds from Barth’s. Biagios Bakery in Stirling also donated a Men of Charity cake, which was enjoyed by many. James Foti agreed. “I thought it was a great event and that everyone enjoyed themselves. It's a great way to sample some top notch Harvest Fest food and so many different types of craft beers.”
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What’s next for the Men of Charity? “The next big event will be our Chili and Chowder Cook-off on January 25th, our 6th time, and it should be another great time with great food.” according to Mike Hober.
What do the local home brewers have in mind for the coming winter months? James Foti isn’t exactly sure but has some idea. “Probably something that is a bit fuller bodied and good to drink by the fire or when you’re snowed in.”
Any thoughts of going full time? Greg Rose responded, “We always come out of this event with grand plans of ditching our day jobs, following our passion, and opening a brewery. Unfortunately the buzz wears off, so we try to commit to brewing more, maybe enter a few competitions, and share our beer with a wider audience.” We couldn’t agree more. Next stop, Chili and Chowder Cook-off on Jan 25.
Pictures from the Harvest Fest are available on the Men of Charity Facebook page .
Participating NJ Craft Brewers:
BOAKS, Pompton Lakes
Bolero Snort Brewing, Ridgefield Park
Carton Brewing, Atlantic Highlands
Climax Brewery, Roselle Park
Cricket Hill Brewery, Fairfield
East Coast Brewing, Point Pleasant Beach
Flying Fish Brewery, Somerdale
High Point Brewing (Ramstein Beers), Butler
Hunterdon Distributors, Whitehouse Station
NJ HOPZ, Hackettstown
Stirling Hotel, Stirling
Trap Rock Brewery, Berkeley Heights
UNO Chicago Grill, Metuchen
Participating Home Brewers:
Rich Comeau, Michael Ray Singer, James Foti and Ed Anderson, Greg Rose and Gregg Marks, Fabio Guerreiro
Generous Supporters:
Basking Ridge Courtyard by Marriot Hotel , Basking Ridge
Biagios Bakery, Stirling
Café Rustica, Basking Ridge
Henry Street Shortcuts, Basking Ridge
Knapp Law Firm, Basking Ridge
Luna Rossa Ristorante, Pluckemin
Ridge Family Dentistry, Basking Ridge
Stirling Fine Wines, Stirling
Trap Rock Restaurant & Brewery, Berkeley Heights
Wild West City, Stanhope
The Men of Charity was formed in 2008 to engage in charitable service to the community at large. The members of the Men of Charity have been engaged in numerous donation and service activities including clothing drives, volunteering at soup kitchens, and coordinating home repairs. Additionally, through their three annual fundraising events; The Harvest Fest and NJ Microbrew Night, Winter Chili & Chowder Cook-Off and 5K Run for Kindness efforts, the Men of Charity make donations to individual families and organizations in time of need.
