Taste Rain Barrel Beer at CBF's Family-Friendly Bay Party

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is gearing up for its second annual Save the Bay Family Day in Hampton Roads, and Bay lovers are invited to have some fun while learning more about protecting the waterway.

On Sunday, September 9, the Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach will host guests for a day of Bay celebration, education, and advocacy. The event is free and will offer up plenty of family fun including boat cruises, oyster cage building, a Bay critter touch tank, and other artistic and Bay-centric crafts, displays, and science experiments. A mermaid will even be on hand for a meet and greet.

Event organizer Erica Park says Save the Bay Family Day is an opportunity for guests to learn “how to become an advocate for the Bay.” From dissecting menhaden to getting in touch with local government officials, citizens can get all of the tools they need to lend a hand in improving the Chesapeake.

Complimentary snacks and food trucks will provide some tasty bites, and a beer garden featuring brews from Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company and the Center’s Rain Barrel beer (made with treated rainwater) will be ready for sipping.

The Rain Barrel beer, made possible thanks to a partnership between CBF and Pleasure House Brewing in Virginia Beach, was first produced last year and is sure to be a repeat hit for 2018’s Family Day. 

CBF’s Chris Gorri explains that when the Brock Environmental Center was constructed four years ago, it “received the first commercial permit to capture rainwater, treat on-site, and drink it,” a first in the country. The water is certified each month. 

Pleasure House Brewing’s Drew Stephenson says he wanted to respect the Bay by keeping the rainwater as pure as possible, so he doesn’t add much to it. The result is a Bohemian Pilsner, a “soft, rounded lager” as Stephenson describes it. “We just let the water shine,” he says. 

Stephenson says more batches are on the horizon, and Pleasure House Brewing is looking forward to continuing the partnership and doing what it can to help the Bay.

Registration for the event is required. To learn more and save your spot, click here.

–Laura Boycourt