BeerCamp Recap and Tale of the Last Parade
Posted by CMH Gourmand on March 30, 2010
Thanks to our dedicated volunteers, some Wild Geese, courageous sponsors and everyone that came out to the Best Event on March 28th.
There will be a BeerCamp 2011.
Homebrew contenders
Oh my. What a day. First lesson learned, people like beer…a lot. Friday and Saturday was all about answering e-mails and phone calls from people wanting BeerCamp tickets. And it was about telling various beseechers that BeerCamp was sold out with a long waiting list. Starting on Thursday, I started paying attention to the weather forecast….and then I started not paying attention to the weather forecast with visions of thunder and lightning flashing through my head.
I have an aluminium roof over my porch. At 6:30 am Sunday morning I started to hear a light pitter patter on the roof and remained in my state of semi consciousness. By 8:00 AM the sound of rain was agonizingly still loud in spite of trying to drown it out with four pillows, every blanket I could find and my 65 pound dog on my head. As parade master for the BeerCamp parade I decided it was best to stay in bed. My task was to mentally compose an inspiring speech I would give to the seven paraders and five police officers (who were well paid) I could count on for a rainy day parade. I was convinced I could deliver the eloquence of the Henry the V speech. As it turned out, the rain stopped a few minutes before start time and all I had to say was – LET’S GO!
The parade consisted of: That Car, The CD 101 Ice Cream Truck, a Mini Van, a chicken, a dog, two bikes, two scooters, a fake goose, two bands, Lady Gaga, a man holding a beer bottle and a rag tag, motley crew of very, very good people.
One of our bands!
An unidentified woman appears to be running away from the chicken cage
Exclusive shot from the rear of the parade
The parade was memorable. Mark my words….it will never happen again. If you missed the parade you missed twenty three minutes of history.
Heroes - group shot at parade conclusion
There will be another BeerCamp. Here are some of the reasons why:
1:47 PM - Full house for an event that started at 2 PM
Entrants to BeerCamp received a BeerCamp pint glass with tickets for eight pours of Columbus Brewing Company Beers (thanks Eric Bean!). We told everyone to bring T-shirts so they could get a free BeerCamp screenprint. Kyle Sowash sang the world premiere of the Surly Girl BeerCamp song in honor our lead sponsor Surly Girl Saloon. Brezel was present to sell pretzels. After the food judging was concluded – everyone had full access to BeerCamp food which included cupcakes, pork bellies and many other excellent, over the top goodies.
Please note, Walker Evans is drinking a beer and Carmen Owens is not being surly
Here is our creme de la creme of contest judges:
Food
Walker Evans – Columbus Underground
Johnny DiLoretto – Fox 28 / Channel 6
Carmen Owens – Chief Asskicker, Surly Girl Saloon
Mike Publicover – Manager, Mama Mimi’s Take and Bake Pizza
Shelly Mann – Editor, Columbus Alive
Homebrew
Emma Christensen – Columbus Dispatch
Michael Paull – Beer Writer
Eric Drake – Brothers Drake Mead
Frank Barickman – The Scioto, Olentangy and Darby Zymurgists (SODZ)
Lauren Wilson – Beer Evangelist and Raconteur
Crafts
Amy D – Made By Amy D and Queen of Clintonville
Olivera Bratich – Wholly Craft
Adrienne Raimo – Crafty Person
Andy Dehus – Renaissance Man, Woolf Tamer, Taco Truck Writer and Restaurant Designer
Beer Label Design
Ben Lamb – Artist, Rocker and Community Personality
Clinton Reno – Artist extraordinaire and all around nice guy
Robin Oatts – Web designer and winner of the BeerCamp patience award
Patrick Kelleher – Brewmaster for Neil House Brewery and parade sponsor
So let’s talk some more about the food. I had to recuse myself from food judging since I knew some of the contestants. Every item I sampled was outstanding. The contest scores were close but at the end, the Pierogi King of Columbus and BaconCamp Champion, the esteemed Roland Kopecky won the grand prize with his Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout Cupcakes (served with a shot of milk). Our other winners were: (Craft) Sarah Cusser, for her beer and ink drawings, (Homebrew) Shane Crane, with his Guinness-style dry stout and (Beer Label Design) John Schumacher.
Compliments of Pattycake Bakery
It was a packed house, nothing bad happened, people had a good time and it did not rain on my parade – that is all one could want from a BeerCamp. So see you next year. (Buy your tickets early!)
Cupcake King of Columbus, Mr. Roland Kopecky
Please enjoy these other links:
CMH Gourmand - Eating in Columbus & Ohio 
Nick said
Great write-up, Jim! I look forward to working on the next one with you!
Elizabeth Lessner said
I have missed the best event of the year. Damn! Great recap, Gourmand!
MAC said
Congratulations. I’m sorry I missed it, it looks great. Take care of Josh this week. He’s very sensitive.
Cheers.
Porky said
Looks like a great time, only sorry that I missed the Beer!
Mmmmmmm Beer.
Amanda said
This post made me a little misty eyed š
Cheryl Harrison said
I’m SO bummed I missed BeerCamp, but thanks for the great recap! I will most definitely be there next year š
That Car said
Rain is bound to happen every now and then…..don’t be so quick to discount the value of a parade!
CMH G Comment: We had the BeerCamp post event meeting debrief at Surly Girl Saloon Sunday night. We discussed BeerCamp and how to make it better next year – lots of good ideas. Things to expect – more than one day, more bathrooms, more screenprinting and if not a parade then a march or marathon. All I can say is BeerCamp 2011 is sounding real good. Again, the parade had moxie but it was painfully expensive. Will see. Thanks for your support.