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“This year Head Brewer, Sean Willingham, directed us in quadrupling our production of the Woltermelon Blonde Ale as compared to what we made in 2016,” Goodman said. “We worked with our distributor, Ohio Eagle, to get our beer at various bars and restaurants in Butler, Warren and Preble counties through the summer and early fall.”
During that process is when the brewery discovered that it had one last half barrel of the Woltermelon Blonde.
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“We will be running special pricing of the Woltermelon Blonde during the event while our supply lasts,” Goodman said.
Municipal Brew Works has been working with the Hamilton Fire Department and the Wolterman family to designate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the beer to a charity of the Woltermans’ choice.
This year the family decided that the proceeds would go to the Companions On A Journey Grief Counseling Center in West Chester.
“The Center has been working with the Wolterman family since Patrick’s passing in December 2015,” Goodman said. “We will also be presenting a check for $1,750 to the counseling center.”
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According to Goodman, the back story of Woltermelon Blonde Ale comes from the firefighter running out of beer at a summer picnic and being forced to drink his wife’s watermelon-flavored beer.
“He actually liked it and turned some of the other attendees on to the beer,” Goodman said. “It was always the intent of Municipal Brew Works to infuse our Approachable Blonde into a summer seasonal beer of Approachable Blonde with watermelon. After we heard of Patrick’s story at the picnic, we asked if we could name the beer as a tribute to Patrick and his memory.”
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Honoring Wolterman is something the local business feels is part of its duty as part of the community according to Goodman.
“It is a goal of Municipal Brew Works to not only make great beer but to establish strong community roots,” he said. “We lost one of our own. Patrick was a person (who) dedicated his life to the protection of others in this community and it’s important to us that we honor that.”
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