On Saturday, November 19th Beer Church raised over $5,500 in cash and 2,700 pounds of food for the West Seattle Food Bank. Participants at the 13th Annual Beer Church Turkey Bowl included a total of 199 bowlers and dozens of spectators. Beer Church is the charitable arm of the Washington Beer Blog. We organize and operate the events but it is the participants, volunteers and sponsors who actually make a difference.

Two competitions took place within the larger Beer Church Turkey Bowl event. First of all, eight breweries fought it out for the Beer Church Battle of the Brewers trophy. This year Naked City Brewing walked away victorious. The breweries involved in the Battle of the Brewers included Two Beers Brewing, Elliott Bay Brewing, Odin Brewing, Emerald City Beer Co,  Schooner Exact Brewing, Pike Brewing, Elysian Brewing, and Naked City Brewing.

The Washington Beer Blog wants to thank all of the breweries that worked with us over the past couple months. This was the third charity fundraiser that we have organized in the past eight weeks: Craft:Beer+Food, BitterSweet:Beer+Chocolate, and now Turkey Bowl. Our participating breweries generously donated time, beer, swag and creative energy. We very much appreciate their support.

The other competition within Turkey Bowl involved seven local bars competing for the Beer Church Bar Brawl trophy. Elliott Bay Brewery Pub won an incredibly close race, ending West 5′s three-year run as champs. The top three finishers in the Bar Brawl ended up within one point of each other.  The bars involved in the Bar Brawl this year included Beveridge Place Pub, Feedback Lounge, West 5,  Mission, Latona Pub, Dog & Pony, and Elliott Bay Brewing (the pub’s team).

West 5 was the undisputed food champion again this year, bringing over 600 lbs. of food. Their contribution to the annual Beer Church food drive is always an inspiration. Also, big thanks to our sponsor who donated prizes for our Target Raffle and helped us raise over $4,000. We also want to extend our thanks to the crew of Turkey Bowl volunteers: Chelsea Asplund, Shannon and Nancy Sharpe, Mark and Barb Vadakin, Darol Hinton, and Allen Maxwell. It was also great to see the West Seattle Food Bank bring a group of bowlers to enjoy the event.

This year Turkey Bowl participants enjoyed a special treat – a sneak preview of Beer Church Midnight Mass Holiday Pale Ale, a beer brewed by Two Beers Brewing. The beer was very well-received and absolutely delicious. Best described as a northwest-style Winter Warmer, Midnight Mass weighs in at 6.8% ABV. It is dark and rich with a notable spiciness and a sharp hoppiness. We will have more information about Midnight Mass Holiday Pale Ale in the coming days. Expect to start seeing it in better beer bars around Seattle after Thanksgiving.

Here are some pictures from Saturday night.

Beer Church Turkey Bowl happens tomorrow evening (Sat. Nov. 19) at West Seattle Bowl. Among the participants, eight local breweries and eight local bars are sending teams. We have a great list of prizes for our raffle this year (listed below). We have two lanes available for walk-ups. Also, anyone is welcome to show up and just hang out.

This is our 13th Annual Turkey Bowl, a fundraiser and food drive for the West Seattle Food Bank. The entire 32-lane bowling alley will be ours. Even if you don’t want to bowl, it’s a fun event and the raffle is great. It’s a good party and the bowling alley has plenty of beer on tap. This event will also serve as a special sneak preview of our Beer Church Pale Ale v3.0. Beer Church Midnight Mass Holiday Pale Ale was brewed by Two Beers Brewing. I sampled a bit of it yesterday and it is quite wonderful: a deliciously dry-hopped pale with a little sumpin’ sumpin’ for the holidays.We’ll have more information next week about the beer and its availability.

The Bowling Alley will also be serving jello shots for $2 and donating $1 of it to the West Seattle Food Bank. Look out.

We have two unreserved lanes and we’re keeping them open for individuals and small groups on a first-come, first-served basis. If you know for certain that you’re coming and you want to bowl, drop me an email and say so. Your $30 donation gets you three games and a lot of laughs. Otherwise, just show up and we should be able to get you bowling. First-come, first-served. Remember, it’s a food drive, too.

Note: Our list of prizes is still growing, but here it is as of this moment.

Woman’s haircut and Men’s haircut at Pinup Salon.
Woman’s haircut and Men’s haircut at Salon 08.
Growler On Board – beer transportation device.
Brave Horse Tavern, $100 gift certificate.
West 5 “Mac and Cheese Club” gift certificate (worth $120).
Two pair of tickets to the Winter Beer Fest (worth $60 per pair).
Beer Junction beer basket with gift certificate.
Elliott Bay Brewing gift basket, includes a $50 gift certificate.
$25 gift certificate and 3-L bottle of wine from Mission Latin Restaurant and Bar.
Latona Pub gift certificate.
Gift Certificate for $25 at Vino Bello wine bar and wine shop in Burien.
Manny’s soft-sided, two-growler cooler and Georgetown swag package.
Naked City t-shirt, growler w/koozy and fill.
Emerald City Brewing – 3 t-shirts.
Pike Brewing gift pack w/2 t-shirts, glasses and swag.
Elysian Brewing t-shirt, hat and four 22-oz beers.
Schooner Exact t-shirt, growler, glassware and swag.

By now many of you have figured out that Kim and I run an organization called Beer Church. Among other things, we organize and host the annual Beer Church Turkey Bowl. The 13th Annual Turkey Bowl takes place this Saturday, November 19th in West Seattle. It’s an outrageously good time, if I do say so myself.

In addition to being a big bowling party, this is a fundraiser and food drive for the West Seattle Food Bank. Within the framework of the larger party, eight local breweries and eight local pubs are sending teams to compete for trophies. In all, we expect in excess of 200 people.

We still have three lanes available. Want to come bowl? You must purchase an entire lane and you can bring a team of up to eight people. If you are interested in participating in this year’s Turkey Bowl, send me an email. Each lane costs $200 and can accommodate as many as eight bowlers.

You don’t have to bowl to come have a good time. Bring a couple cans of food, hang out, enjoy a beer and witness the mayhem. Maybe buy some raffle tickets and see what you can win. We have some great raffle prizes this year.

As if that isn’t enough, this event will also serve as a sneak preview of Beer Church Pale Ale v3.0. Dubbed Beer Church Midnight Mass Holiday Pale Ale, this is a beer brewed for the season at Two Beers Brewing. We’ll hold a release party in the coming weeks, and the beer will be available at better beer bars around the area very soon, but Turkey Bowl offers a special preview.

Here’s the press release about the event.

Press Release

13^th Annual Turkey Bowl Food Drive and Fundraiser this Saturday in West Seattle

Contact:
Beer Church
Kendall Jones
beerchurch@gmail.com
www.beerchurch.com

For Immediate Release
November 14, 2011

Beer Drinkers Unite to Help Feed the Hungry

(Seattle, WA) The 13^th Annual Turkey Bowl takes place Saturday, November 19th at 6:00 p.m. in West Seattle. Organized by Beer Church, the event is a fundraiser and food drive to benefit the West Seattle Food Bank. More than 200 guests will attend the event at West Seattle Bowl (4505 39^th Ave. SW, Seattle).

There is limited space for bowlers but anyone is welcome to attend the event and participate in the raffle. The event starts at 6:00 p.m. but Beer Church encourages the public to drop off food donations at West Seattle Bowl on Saturday between 1:00 and 8:00 p.m.

“This is an especially appropriate time of year for people to think about hunger in our community,” says Kendall Jones, Director of Beer Church. “Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks for the abundance of food that so many of us enjoy but it is also a good time to slow down and think about the people struggling in our community. That’s why Turkey Bowl is a benefit for the West Seattle Food Bank: we want to help people remember that hunger is a real issue and we want to give them a fun and easy way to contribute.”

Last year’s Beer Church Turkey Bowl netted over 3,000 pounds of food and over $3,000 in donations. Organizers hope to exceed those numbers this year. Participants will include a number of teams from local breweries and local bars. In addition to bowling, the event features a raffle for prizes donated by local merchants.

Among the participants, eight local breweries will battle it out for the coveted Battle of the Brewers trophy. Likewise, eight local bars will compete for the Bar Brawl trophy. Breweries involved: Elliott Bay Brewing, Elysian Brewing, Emerald City Beer Co., Georgetown Brewing, Naked City Brewing, Odin Brewing, Pike Brewing, and Schooner Exact Brewing. Local bars involved: Beveridge Place Pub, Dog and Pony Alehouse, Feedback Lounge, Latona Pub (3 Pubs), Mission, Porterhouse Pub, and West 5.

About Beer Church

Beer Church is a Seattle-based organization dedicated to one simple principle — make the world a better place one beer at a time. To that end, Beer Church organizes fundraisers that provide easy and fun ways for beer lovers to contribute to the community.

On November 20th, nine local breweries and five local bars will participate in Beer Church Turkey Bowl 2010 at that West Seattle Bowl. The 12th Annual Turkey Bowl is a fundraiser and food drive for the West Seattle Food Bank.

What’s a Beer Church?

In addition to operating this blog, Mrs. Beer Blog and I also run Beer Church. Without going into too much excruciating detail, Beer Church is an idea that I hatched many years ago with my good friend Pete. He is now sipping barley pops at the Great Taphouse in the Sky, but Beer Church carries on in his honor.

From the beginning our idea was simple: use beer as a way to get people engaged in the community. Create simple, fun and affordable ways for people to be involved in charitable giving. And what’s more simpler, more funner and more affordabler than beer? (That’s how Pete would have said it.)

Me and my buddy Pete manning the donation table at Beer Church Turkey Bowl, circa 1999?

So that’s what we do. Beer Church has hosted the annual Beer Church Turkey Bowl for the past 12 years at West Seattle Bowl. We’ve done all sorts of other crazy events over the years, but it always comes back to bowling. Our annual food drive and fundraiser for the West Seattle Food Bank has become legendary. There is a video below that will give you an idea of the kind of fun we have.

It’s not our mission to brag about these things, but suffice it to say that the many wonderful people who have attended our events over the years have donated tens of thousands of dollars to various charities. Actually, this year’s event will push us into the six digit range. This doesn’t even include the truckloads of food we’ve donated to the Food Bank.

The Battle of the Brewers

A couple of years ago we started inviting a few breweries to participate in the Beer Church Battle of the Brewers – a friendly competition within the larger Turkey Bowl. The winning team last year was from Elliott Bay Brewery. This year we have nine teams competing: Big Al Brewing, Naked City Brewery, Pike Brewery, Elysian Brewing, Georgetown Brewing, Emerald City Beer, Schooner Exact Brewing, Two Beers Brewing, and returning champion Elliott Bay Brewing.

There will also be teams from local bars competing in the Beer Church Bar Brawl, namely: Beveridge Place Pub, Dog and Pony Alehouse, Porterhouse Pub, the Feedback Lounge, and West 5 (the three-time champion).

This year Beer Church Turkey Bowl is sponsored by Link Apartments and Mike’s Hard Lemonade. We seriously appreciate their support. Although Mike’s isn’t beer, it is local and they have graciously stepped up to sponsor the event. We like that.

Beer Church Pale Ale

This year Beer Church is hatching a new plan to help beer lovers contribute to charitable causes. We’re making a beer. If you frequent the better beer bars and pubs around the Seattle area, you’ll start to see Beer Church Pale Ale late next month. We will do a separate  post about that beer in the near future.

In the meantime, here’s a video from last year’s Beer Church Turkey Bowl.

Last night (Sat. Nov. 21^st) Beer Church held its 11^th Annual Turkey Bowl to benefit the West Seattle Food Bank. The event is a bowling party, food drive and fundraiser held each year at West Seattle Bowl. This year Beer Church set new records. They collected approximately 3,000 lbs. of food and thousands of dollars in cash donations. The exact totals have not yet been calculated.

The event attracted over 200 bowlers and an impressive gallery of spectators who were there just for the fun. All told, the crowd was close to 300 people.

Within the larger event, representatives of the Washington beer industry were on hand to battle it out in the Beer Church Battle of the Brewers. Big Al Brewing, Georgetown Brewing, Elysian Brewing, Pike Brewing, Snoqualmie Falls Brewing, and Elliott Bay Brewing all participated in this year’s competition. In the end it was Elliott Bay that took home the trophy. You can see the trophy on display at the West Seattle brew pub. All of the breweries involved, and some that were not involved, donated swag for the raffle, which is one of the primary ways that Beer Church events generate revenue. More raffle prizes equals more ticket sales.

Three West Seattle pubs battled it out in the Beer Church Bar Brawl. Beveridge Place Pub, Porterhouse Pub, and West 5 not only competed by bowling but also by donating food. Beer Church awarded points to each team for the amount of food they donated. Not surprisingly, West 5 defended their title and took home the trophy. The victory was due largely to the fact that they brought an amazing amount of food. All of the teams, and the entire crowd in general, were very generous, but West 5 blew them all away with the mountain of food they donated.

The West Seattle Blog was a sponsor and media partner for the event, helping Beer Church sell the event out two weeks in advance – another new record. They were on hand to report on the action. You can see their story, and video, here.

Another, different kind of local blog participated in the event. West Seattle Funblog not only brought a large and very raucous crowd, but an impressive amount of food as well. They also passed the hat and collected $250 in cash. You can read their reports on the event here. (Not recommended for people who are easily offended or people who don’t have an open mind when it comes to “funmanship.”)

We’ve posted a video and some photos from the event below.

Participants are awarded raffle tickets in exchange for food.

Ken (Big Al Brewing) helping organize the donations.

Tons and tons of raffle prizes.

Tons of food. Well, 1.5 tons of food anyway.

Frances is the Beer Church Controller. She handles all the scoring to make sure everything is on the up-and-up.

This Saturday, Beer Church will host its 11^th Annual Beer Church Turkey Bowl. The event is a bowling party, fundraiser and food drive to support the West Seattle Food Bank. Within the larger event, six Washington breweries will be competing in the 2^nd Annual Battle of the Brewers.

Teams from Big Als Brewing, Elliott Bay Brewing, Elysian Brewing, Georgetown Brewing, Pike Brewing, and Snoqualmie Falls Brewing will participate. Some of our local brewing legends will be on hand to show us their bowling prowess or lack thereof. We are guessing that they are much better at brewing beer than they are picking up spares. The defending champions, Georgetown Brewing, will try to hang on to the trophy, which they won last year in what can only be described as a truly pathetic display of severe Labowskilessness.

Beer Church has been organizing charity fundraisers for the past 11 years. In that time, they have raised $95,000 for various charitable causes. The goal for this year’s Turkey Bowl is to collect 1,500 lbs. of food and $5,000 in funds. This will push Beer Church over the $100,000 mark.

The idea is simple, really: provide people with a way to have fun and also contribute to worthy causes.  The events are not fancy or expensive. They always include beer. Beer Church does not aim to attract the kind of people who can drop $20,000 on a night at the bowling alley. You won’t see any Bentleys or Ferraris in the parking lot. What you will see is a bunch of people doing what they would normally be doing, drinking beer and having fun, and spending what they’d likely be spending on any Saturday night. The only difference is that it all benefits a worthy cause.

Turkey Bowl 2009 is a complete sell out. There’s no more room for bowlers. Everyone is welcome to stop by, bring some food to donate, and participate in the raffle. Oh ya, they have beer there, too.  Beer Church will be giving away loads of swag from local breweries, gift certificates from their sponsors, and lots of other stuff. For more details, visit www.beerchurch.com.

Beer Church Turkey Bowl
Saturday, Nov. 21^st 6:00 p.m.

West Seattle Bowl
4505 39^th Ave. SW
Seattle, WA 98116

Seattle-based Beer Church has been organizing fundraisers for the past 11 years — making the world a better place one beer at a time. On November 21st, 2009, Beer Church will host the 11th Annual Turkey Bowl, a bowling party, food drive and fundraiser for the West Seattle Food Bank. The event, held at West Seattle Bowl,  is open to the beer loving public and you do not need to have any bowling skills whatsoever to come have fun and win prizes. Get complete details from the Beer Church Web site.

Within the larger event, a handful of local breweries will be battling it out in the Battle of the Brewers. Representatives from Big Al Brewing, Georgetown Brewing, Snoqualmie Falls Brewing, Pike Brewing, and Elliott Bay Brewing will compete for the coveted Battle of the Brewers Trophy. Georgetown is the current champ, having squeaked out a narrow victory over Big Al and Elliott Bay at last year’s Turkey Bowl.

As the breweries compete in the Battle of the Brewers, local watering holes will compete in the Turkey Bowl Bar Brawl. So far, West Seattle’s Beveridge Place Pub and West 5 have confirmed. Others are expected to commit soon.

Everyone is welcome at this event. Individuals as well as teams are encouraged. For more details and to buy tickets, go to the Beer Church Turkey Bowl page.

Last year’s Turkey Bowl saw 150 bowlers pack the bowling alley. A total of $3,000 and 1,500 lbs. of food was the result. The event is expected to sell out again this year, so do not delay. Make your plans and purchase tickets.