UPDATED - Hoppy Holidays! Busted Wagon Holiday IPA & the MS Society

05/08/14 - UPDATE! Back in March, we received the total fundraising amounts from the Payette Brewing / Hayden Distributing Holiday fundraiser - and I wanted to share them with you all. The totals are:

Payette Brewing: $3,596.60

Hayden Distributing: $1.265.00

That's a total of $4,860.60 to our chapter of the MS Society! Funds raised were earmarked for providing local financial assistance and support for those in our communities impacted by MS. For more detail, please read the original blog post below. Thanks to all who came out and supported this effort by enjoying some delicious Busted Wagon Holiday IPA! And a huge thank you to Payette Brewing, Hayden Beverage and to all of our local eating and drinking establishments who proudly served Busted Wagon!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Payette Brewing Company and Hayden Beverage here in Boise, ID are holding a great holiday fundraiser for the National MS Society - Utah and Southern Idaho Chapter. And you can help, simply by having a delicious, hoppy, well-balanced holiday beer at your favorite establishment this month! Learn how after the break...

So...Payette Brewing Company has supported local charities and causes as long as they've been around. I don't know of any other company in Boise that does more to help the community than Payette Brewing. One example is their weekly "Kegs 4 Kause" event - where they donate a % of proceeds in their taproom to a local charity. The MS Society has been a Kegs 4 Kause recipient multiple times over the past couple of years.

Another example is a fundraiser this holiday season that is very near and dear to me - Busted Wagon Holiday IPA. Busted Wagon is a seasonal beer that Payette releases every December. Payette and their distributor, Hayden Beverage, donate 100% of the proceeds from Busted Wagon to a local charity. This year, the MS Society - Utah and Southern Idaho Chapter is the recipient of this fundraiser!

To put this in context - Payette brewed 45 barrels of this beer, or approximately 80+ kegs. These kegs have been sold to drinking and eating establishments all throughout the Treasure Valley (and one in Twin Falls.) Every penny that Hayden Beverage and Payette collects from those keg sales is being donated to the MS Society. Not being in the industry, I'm not sure how much the kegs sell for, or what the margin is - but I think it's safe to say that this is a multi-thousand dollar fundraiser.

Some Busted Wagon History...

I have some personal history with this beer also. The beer was conceived three years ago, as part of a live auction fundraiser during for the Centennial Gala for the Women's and Children's Alliance (WCA) here in Boise. Bea Black (WCA Executive Director), Katherine Johnson (WCA Marketing Director at the time), Mike Francis (Owner, Payette Brewing Company), and Jacob Black (Sales Director, Payette Brewing Company) brainstormed this auction package that would give the winning bidder the opportunity to brew their home-brew recipe at Payette Brewing on professional brewing equipment. Additionally, that beer would be kegged, bottled, and distributed to local bars, proceeds to be donated to the WCA. Oh, and the winning bidder got to host a "beer premiere party" at the brewery for 50 of his or her friends, local catering included. Good times!

My friends and I put together an "investment group" (headed up by my pal Eric Nelson) of about 25 guys who ended up winning the auction. The top five investors got to brew the beer hands-on at Payette (the rest of us attended the release party.) My friends Steve Delnista and Scott Jeide provided the recipe - and that beer was Busted Wagon. I should note that Steve and I won the first and (so far) only "Busted Wagon Cornhole Tournament" that night. I, for one, am glad to retire that trophy while we're on top...

Top Cornholers Rex and Steve

Busted Wagon was so successful that first year that Payette brewed the recipe again last year, increased the batch size, and chose a local charity to donate the proceeds to. This year, the batch size was increased again (to 45 barrels) and Payette invited local charities to apply to be the recipient of the proceeds. When the application process was announced, I immediately contacted my friend Megan Nettleton at the MS Society, and Megan submitted a terrific application package. We were notified shortly thereafter that the MS Society was one of three finalists, and then ultimately that the MS Society was the winning charity this year!

Busted Wagon 2013 - The Release

Sheila Francis (Marketing Director, Payette Brewing Company) sent out a nice press release about Busted Wagon and the MS Society earlier this month. In the press release, Sheila commends the MS Society "...for their dedication to helping not only those who are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis but also their family members..." and also notes that "...the local chapter of the MS Society has been very active in fundraising through activities such as cycling races and walks." 

I couldn't agree more! 

Furthermore, Hayden Beverage expressed interest in earmarking the donation for the personal financial assistance program that the MS Society offers. I love this program, which helps those impacted by MS manage the daily challenges presented by MS. In our family, there were many such challenges as my brother Rick was unable to work, and was having a difficult time receiving Medicaid. Things like paying for in-home physical therapy, a care-giver, wheelchairs, cooling vests, or even paying utility bills were very trying at times. The family rallied and helped as much as we could, but it never quite seemed to be enough. Please consider visiting our local MS Society chapter's web site here to learn more about the financial assistance program.

Payette threw a great release party on Monday, December 9th in their taproom. Megan and Becky Lyttle (Vice President, Community Development) with our MS Society chapter office in Salt Lake City were on hand. Greg Goins, Doug Jenkins, and Gail McGarry from our Bike MS team, Team WinCo, were there as well - along with a whole bar full of friends, family, and MS Society supporters. We blew through an entire keg of Busted Wagon, and made a dent in a second, and I had a great night with my friends and new acquaintances. It was a successful kickoff for sure!

Celebrating Busted Wagon Holiday IPA 2013!
From left to right: Doug, Terri, Greg, Rex (me), Becky, Megan, Heather

And lastly, I really appreciate Payette's vetting process for this fundraiser, and their focus on outcomes - how the charities are helping people in our community, in real and tangible ways. Megan said that "...It was one of the most rewarding application processes for me because they asked for stories and pictures of actual people we are able to help through the Society. Most applications are very mandated, but Payette gave me the chance to put together three personal stories along with some candid photos - by the time I submitted it I was getting all teared up myself!" Me too. You may have read about a couple of these folks on this blog earlier in the year - my friend Gordy Myre, and my brother Rick Parker.

On to the important part of this article...

How You Can Help!

 So - here's where we need your help! As I see it, this fundraiser is predicated on selling kegs of Busted Wagon to local establishments. If Busted Wagon is wildly popular, then those establishments will certainly be inclined to order Busted Wagon again next year (paying it forward to the next deserving charity.) So - we need to find where Busted Wagon is being served, and go support those establishments. And, the fact that Busted Wagon is a fantastic beer should make this an easy decision!

How will you know where to find Busted Wagon? Sheila provided a list of local establishments that ordered Busted Wagon this year...you can find the list here. Now...we're not sure when each establishment will be putting Busted Wagon on tap - so you may want to phone your favorite places and ask. Also, I'll try and post to Facebook every time Busted Wagon is spotted on tap and where - using the hash tag #BustedWagon. If you're an Untappd user, check out the Busted Wagon Holiday IPA check-in list for locations.

Also - Payette produced a poster and a very cool tap handle for Busted Wagon. Look for these at your local eating and drinking establishments throughout this month!

Busted Wagon Poster

Busted Wagon Tap Handle

For example: I enjoyed a Busted Wagon (okay, I had more than one...) the other night at the River Room in Whole Foods. Check out the awesome Busted Wagon tap handle. Beautiful!

Busted Wagon at the River Room in Whole Foods

And - don't forget to visit the Payette Brewing taproom! Stop by, have a pint or two of Busted Wagon, take some home in a growler.

Hope to see you out on the "Busted Wagon Trail" this month!

And thank you so much - Payette Brewing Company and Hayden Beverage - for your continued support of the MS Society!