Craft Beer Festival draws crowd

Several hundred Cape Girardeau microbrew enthusiasts on Saturday proved what some beer drinkers have long suspected: A cold beer can be good for a person's mental health.

Carrying miniature pilsner glasses and wearing strings of pretzels around their necks to clear their palates between sips, participants had the chance to sample their choice of 80 varieties of beer, ranging from pale ales to stouts, at the Community Counseling Center Foundation's third annual Craft Beer Festival.

The event was a fundraiser for the center, which provides mental health services on a sliding scale to about 7,000 patients a year, said Dale Rauh, president of the foundation.

"It's a tremendous asset to our community," he said.

Two hours into the event Saturday, about 500 people had come to Arena Park to listen to the Jerry Ford Combo and visit with other craft beer enthusiasts as they tasted products from about 15 breweries, Rauh said.

Jackson-based Hubrew was among the breweries represented.

Brewmaster Chad Huber and intern Trevor Camp pulled samples of several Hubrew products, including a limited-edition variety designed to taste like s'mores.

"We took a basic chocolate stout, and we made a marshmallow extract ourselves, and we added some graham cracker flavors to it," Huber said. "You blend those three flavors, and you get s'mores. It's kind of the beginning of a series of sweet dessert beers we're coming out with."

Huber said he brought five gallons of the brew to the festival.

"We already tapped out of it," he said, glancing at his watch. "Less than two hours."

David Peluso of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, was among those who got a taste.

"It came out really good," he said. "You know, not every beer's going to be for everybody."

Peluso and Laura Spies of Cape Girardeau shared samples of beer made by members of the Hop Heads Homebrew Club.

Peluso said club members enjoy experimenting with their own recipes.

"Everybody likes to kind of do their own thing," he said.

As Peluso spoke, John Spencer of Jackson took a sip of the club's pumpkin-honey beer.

"I've tried a few, and the pumpkin honey's the best," he said.

Unusual flavors seemed to be the order of the day, with Kiln, Mississippi-based Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. serving a pecan ale and Bucyrus, Missouri-based Piney River Brewing Co. offering samples of its black walnut wheat beer.

"People really love the off-the-wall, the new, strange stuff," said Huber, who is looking forward to tapping his latest creation -- a peanut butter and chocolate beer -- in the near future. "They never expect somebody could make s'mores and beer together."

Rauh said the event attracts many home-brewing enthusiasts.

"They come to get ideas," he said.

Spencer said he gave home brewing a try, but his effort didn't end the way he'd hoped.

"I've tried once, but I gave it up. Didn't work out well," he said. "Bottles exploded."

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Arena Park, Cape Girardeau, MO