A quick riddle: what do you get when you combine two thousand urbanites fresh off a long day at work, a copious amount of premium beer and a park full of endangered species? Unfortunately, it’s not a drunken reenactment of the stampede scene from the film "Jumanji." Welcome to “Brew at the Zoo,” the National Zoo’s annual summer beer tasting event.The fourth annual Brew at the Zoo took place last week, hosted by the Smithsonian Institute’s Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) Young Professionals. The sold out event featured tastings from 26 local, national and international breweries, hors d’oeuvres from 16 Metro area restaurants and music from two D.C. indie bands. This year’s Brew also offered a brand new VIP option, including full-bottle beer samples at two private bars, unlimited pizza from Armand’s, two up-close animal demonstrations, a discussion with one of the brewmasters and a commemorative t-shirt.
As if the description isn’t enough to spark your interest, the entire event is for charity. All proceeds support the Zoo’s animal care, conservation science, education and sustainability programs. All of the booze, food and time are donated for the event, which allowed FONZ to raise over $60,000 last year. In other words, you can sit proudly at your desk Friday morning knowing that both the ticket cost and your killer hangover are for a truly noble cause.
I know what you’re thinking - Brew at the Zoo seems like the perfect opportunity to live out your dreams of one day sharing a beer with a Spider Monkey or playing drinking games in the Giant Panda den (well - at least they're my dreams). It's not that kind of party. Even if it were, despite their cuddly exterior, it's a well-known fact that pandas are actually ferocious, belligerent drunks.
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