Cape Girardeau had its first beer festival Saturday.
The beer festival was a fundraiser for the non-profit Community Counseling Center Foundation.
Linda Puchbauer is on the Foundation's Board. She says attendance was strong, and they sold over 100 tickets in pre sales.
“We use these funds for various opportunities to help our mentally ill clients,” Puchbauer said.
The festival had over 20 different craft beer vendors and a total of 97 different beer to taste.
Jeff Schrag is the owner of Springfield-based Mothers Brewing Company. He says they chose to participate in the event because Cape Girardeau is the first place they expanded their beer.
“Craft breweries at typically very close to the communities that buy their beer, and often having beer at events is a great way to for us to donate and a great way for organization to raise more money,” Schrag said.
Around 15 of the vendors at the event were Missouri breweries
Steven Synder works for Hubrew, a microbrewery located in Jackson. He says the event is a good way to receive feedback from customers.
“We got invited to come here, we figured it was for a good cause, helps the community, so its a win-win,” Synder said.
Puchbauer says the crowd's response was enthusiastic, and there will be plans for a second beer festival next year.