Dignifying Diving into Donuts

As we all know, summer time is when we really try to hone in on eating clean and providing our bodies with proper nourishment, but of course temptations are hard to resist and are being pushed in our faces constantly. You’ll often notice that many donut companies come out with seasonal flavors of their sweet treats, and donuts definitely tend to be one of those desserts that never disappoint… but what if you were able to justify satisfying your sweet tooth for a great cause? On Friday June 1st, Chikmedia’s President Meghan went out to MC and taste test at one of the most fun and interesting events Western Mass has seen. This Beer and Donut pairing event was in honor of celebrating Berkshire Brewing Company’s 20th anniversary of supporting The Food Bank. What better way to celebrate beer than with donuts too! The Food Bank has been feeding our neighbors in need and leading the community to end hunger since 1982. They service over 220,000 individuals in the Western Massachusetts community and every dollar that this event was able to raise allows them to give three whole meals for those who are in need.
There were eight beer specialists and eight donut specialists. Deans Beans Coffeehouse Porter offered a rich dark ale made with Dean’s Beans organic coffee paired with the Hager’s Farm Market Donuts, Slue’s Maibock Lager is a bronze- honey colored beer with a rich malt flavor that had a little bit of sweet and a little bit of spice, and paired fantastically with 30Boltwood’s donuts from the Lord Jeffrey Inn. The Russian Imperial Stout gives off hints of chocolate, licorice, toffee and ripe dark fruit, and it went great with Mrs. Murphy’s Donut Shop. The Farmstand Raspberry Barleywine Style Ale had half a pound of fresh raspberries per gallon poured into it, and they matched up with Westfield State Dining Services. The Busker Czech Style Pilsner was a lager that went great with the donuts from Randall’s Farm, the Hoosac Tunnel Amber Ale is a deep copper Ale with a rich malt profile from pale, caramel, and crystal malts and paired with Donut Dip. The Shabadoo Black and Tan was a Hoosac Tunnel Amber Ale and Drayman’s Porter, it embodied dark brew and caramel malt and hop profile of an Amber, with chocolate and mocha notes, and they went best with the Glazed Doughnut shop. Finally,  The Berkshire Brewing Company’s flagship brew was a light-colored Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale which gave off exceptional freshness through its 2-row pale malt and signature hop flavor and of course were paired with the Storrowton Tavern and Carriage House.  The outcome of this event was amazing, with a turnout of over 150 people. Alongside Meghan was Steve Nagle, a second host who is a Radio Broadcast professional with 12 years of entertainment experience in hosting and producing radio content for the morning program “Bax and O’Brien” on Rock 102. Special guest appearances from WWLP, Brian Lapis, and John O’Brien were also made at this tasting event. There were three judges, Jeff Lomma, Ashley Clark, and William C. Reichelt, who determined which beer paired best with each fried-dough concoction. In the end, We were able to raise $25,000 which equals 75,000 meals for neighbors in need in Western Massachusetts. It was definitely a close call, but Donut Dip from West Springfield won the judges hearts with their confectionery designs, but the Glazed Doughnut Shop from Northampton and Amherst won the People’s Choice.

Attended the event? Let us know what you thought in the comments below!
And if you didn’t, here are a couple of memories from it so that you can (almost) feel as though you were there in the midst of it all! ☺

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