Craft Beer Walk

Middletown to host inaugural event.

Contact this contributing writer at gmwriteon@aol.com.

Hundreds of participants are expected to turnout for Middletown’s first Craft Beer Walk, which is set for Saturday, Aug. 27. Hosted by Downtown Middletown, Inc., the event is modeled after the popular Women’s Wine & Chocolate Walk that sold out in May with over 400 guests.

Executive Director Mallory Greenham of Downtown Middletown, Inc. said the event will have a similar setup, but this event will be for men and women. The event is open to everyone, ages 21 and older.

“Every year at the Women’s Wine & Chocolate walk we get asked, what’s for the husbands, when are you going to do an event with beer? We heard them, we listened, and we are giving them the event that they have been requesting for a few years now,” Greenham said.

There will be about 20 stops on the walk; half of them will feature beer and the other half will feature food offerings from local eateries. Each beer stop will showcase a different brewery with a different beer.

“We sold over 100 tickets in the first few days the tickets were on sale, and that was through a couple of email blasts and a Facebook post. For perspective, with the Women’s Wine & Chocolate Walk, not this year, but the year before, five days up until the event, we hadn’t even sold 100 tickets, so it’s already going to do better than our first, second and third year of Women’s Wine & Chocolate Walk out of the gate, so we are all pretty excited,” she said.

Registration and check-in for the Craft Beer Walk will begin at 1 p.m. at The Windamere, located at 2 S. Main St. At The Windamere, participants will exchange their ticket for a beer-tasting glass and a guide book with a map. Throughout the afternoon from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., guests will enjoy a variety of different craft beers and food tastings at various businesses and buildings throughout downtown. There will also be an opportunity to enjoy live entertainment and shopping.

“The Windamere is a registration point, so everyone stops here first, and they will end up here afterward. I love seeing all the new faces come in the door, and all the excitement for them to go out and explore, and check out all the businesses that maybe they didn’t know were here,” said Mica Glaser, co-owner of The Windamere and a committee member for the event.

A few stops on the Craft Beer Walk include Middletown Arts Center, Sorg Opera House, The Canal House Bar & Grille and the Pendleton Art Center, among others.

Glaser said the event will highlight beers from Ohio.

“We will have representation from Municipal Brew Works as well as Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House, and more, so there will be good representation of all the great beers that are being made in Ohio,” she said.

Proceeds will benefit the ongoing revitalization and preservation efforts in historic downtown Middletown. Downtown Middletown, Inc. is a nonprofit organization. Ticket sales and donations are tax deductible. Additionally, the event creates an awareness about downtown Middletown and its businesses

Tickets are available online for $36.50 (plus Eventbrite fee) and include 10 beer tastings, 10 food tastings, a commemorative glass and entertainment.

For more information, go online to www.downtownmiddletown.org and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/downtownmiddletown.

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