UNICO Microbrew Festival (GIVEAWAY)

After a jam-packed week of beer events thanks to Deschutes Base Camp week (which was a lot of fun and seemed to be a big success given the crowds at most events and feedback I've heard thus far), the action continues this weekend with a festival up north.

This Saturday, August 11th, UNICO (an Italian American non-profit organization that contributes to local and national charities) hosts its 4th annual Microbrew Festival at Zona Rosa from 3 - 9 pm. Though this festival is a bit smaller than festivals like Parkville or Hopfest, with 19 breweries being represented (plus Dark Horse Distillery), there will still be some cool stuff there to look forward to.

For starters, Charleville Brewing Co. will be making their first appearance in Kansas City at a festival. They are a small brewer out of St. Genevieve, Missouri and are known for making some great beer. I've only had the chance to try one, Box of Chocolate (a chocolate quad) and really enjoyed it, so I'm interested to see what they'll bring out to Zona Rosa.

Also, recent additions to Kansas City shelves, Mother's Brewing Company, will be in attendance, and they noted today that they'll be bringing a few beers that haven't been seen in KC before. Toecutter Aussie Pale Ale, PG-13 (a beer produced from the same mash as Foggy Notion) and Black Cherry Sherry Thang (a blend of 3 beers aged in sherry barrels with 40 lbs. of tart cherries) will all be available for sampling, among others.

The full list of breweries attending the UNICO Microbrew Festival include:

Amerisports Brewpub
Boulevard Brewing Co.
Broadway Brewery
Cathedral Square Brewery
Charleville Brewing Co.
Crown Valley Brewing
Empyrean Brewing Co.
Flying Monkey
Gordon Biersch
Granite City
Green Flash
High Noon Saloon
Mother's Brewing Company
Schlafly
Six Row
Southern Tier
Summit
Tallgrass
Weston

Tickets for the UNICO Microbrew Festival at Zona Rosa are $20 in advance, or $25 at the event. In addition to free beer samples, you get a commemorative sampling glass, live music and food from Scimeca's will be available for purchase.

**GIVEAWAY**

UNICO was generous enough to donate a pair of tickets for us to give away to a lucky reader. To enter to win the tickets, there are 2 steps you need to take:

1) 'Like' the UNICO Microbrew Festival page on Facebook

2) E-mail me at pat.j.mullin@gmail.com, using the subject line UNICO GIVEAWAY with the answer to the following trivia question: What year was the Kansas City chapter of UNICO chartered? (Hint: the UNICO Kansas City website may be able to help you out with this one)

That's it! Submit your entries by 5 pm on Wednesday, August 8th for your chance to win. Winner will be announced Thursday morning.

Good luck!