JOPLIN, Mo. — Don Greenlee’s hopes are high for Ozarks Beerfest.

“This is a unique event and Joplin has never had beer festival of this extent before,” said Greenlee, program director for Big Brothers Big Sisters, about Saturday’s celebration of the brew. “It’s a great event for those who enjoy food and entertainment and good beer.”

Beerfest, a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters, will give area residents the opportunity to belly up to tasting tables and sample almost 100 craft, import and micro-beers from around the region, the country and world.

Greenlee said he hopes to pack Memorial Hall with beer fans and community supporters. He said the event will be an upscale, cultured event dedicated to the discovery of new brews.

“This is a beer event similar to a wine tasting,” he said. “It’s for people to come out and try some flavors they may never have had before and hopefully develop a taste for craft and micro-beers. This will be an upscale tasting and sampling. It’s all you can eat and sample for the price of the ticket donation.”

Six Joplin area restaurants — Crabby’s, Instant Karma, Kate’s Cupcakery, Big R’s, Moes, Gusano’s — are supplying food for the Memorial Hall event and Price Cutter is chipping in with sponsorship and some bites. Two bands, Big Smitty and Diversity band, will entertain and Trios is sponsoring a Friday night party for VIP ticket holders.

The long list of the lagers and ales, which will be on hand for tasting, will impress any beer fan:

* Lagunitas, a California brewer will be there with their pale ale and a Czech pilsner.

*Schlafly Brewery from St. Louis will serve up several homegrown beers.

* Another Missouri favorite, O’Fallon Brewery, will offer samples of their Hemp Hop Rye Amber and 5-Day India Pale Ale.

* Red Hook Brewery, whose Seattle-brewed ales are widley considered some of America’s best brews, will be there, too.

For the kids

While Beerfest is all about food, drink, fun and entertainment, Greenlee doesn’t want people to forget about the reason for its existance. It’s all about embracing Joplin-area youth and the programs Big Brothers Big Sisters supports.

“We work with children and try to instil a sense of self worth, respect and responsibility in them,” Greenlee said of the mostly volunteer organization. “An event such as this helps to fund our programs. Especially right now because of the economy, it’s more important than ever.”

Greenlee explained that Big Brothers Big Sisters is involved with Joplin schools and the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce to support the young people of the Joplin-area community through a variety of efforts.

“Bright Futures (a new Joplin Schools inititive) is a huge part of what we have going on,” he said. “And the chamber’s Teaching Reading To Every Kid (TREK) program and their efforts in Joplin schools are all so important.”

Greenlee said that he and others involved at the grass-roots level with these community programs need financial support to achieve their laudable goals.

“It takes the entire community to help put programs together and funding from this kind of event will help us fund our side of the programs,” Greenlee said.

Great cause, great organization

Greenlee and the supporters of Big Brothers Big Sisters are not the only ones excited about Beerfest. Joplin-area beer distributors and several Missouri and Kansas brewers are donating their products to the cause and said they are excited to get their beers in front of people who may be unfamiliar with them.

David Pryor, of Missouri Eagle, the area’s Anheuser-Busch distributor, said his company is supplying about a dozen specialty beers for the event.

“Were a community-focused organization and we love to support our local community,” Pryor said. “There’s an interest in the micro-beer, craft beer and import segment of the market and it’s growing. It should be a good turnout. I’m excited about getting Beck’s Octoberfest, Michelob Porter and Jack’s Pumpkin Spice in front of Joplin beer drinkers.”

Over at Heart of America Beverage, the area’s Coors and Miller house, Chad Bryant is stoked about the Beerfest, too.

“It’s great to bring the craft beer to Joplin and we feel that it has a lot of room to grow,” Bryant, a vice president of sales, said. “It’s great to create awareness of the new brands and styles of beer that have recently come to the area.”

Bryant said that Heart of America is providing 35 beverages from 10 breweries for the charitable cause.

 “We’ll bring a little of everything for the event,” he said. “Price Cutter is a great partner to work with because they support the brands and the children in the organization with this kind of event.”

Plus, he added, “It’s a great cause and a good organization to be involved in a fundraiser for. We are more than happy to support them.”



Want to go?

Ozarks Beerfest, a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Joplin.

Saturday, August 28 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Joplin Memorial Hall.

— $20 advanced tickets available at Price Cutter locations, Trios (112 North Main Street) and Big Brothers Big Sisters (2431 South Range Line Road) $25 at the door. Entertainment provided by  Big Smitty and Diversity Band.

— $40 VIP ticket, which includes patron’s party at Trios, tonight, August 27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (VIP ticket sales end at noon on Friday) and VIP reception from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Hall.