Onyx Moonshine and Goodwin Community College in East Hartford partnered to hold the first Secret Stash Beer Bash on August 29, 2015 on the Goodwin College campus. The inspiration for the event came after co-founders Adam von Gootkin and Pete Kowalczyk of Onyx Moonshine received many requests from Connecticut craft breweries to use their spent whiskey barrels to age their beer. Turning it into a competition, von Gootkin, Kowalczyk and Goodwin College created this event, during which each participating craft brewery received one Secret Stash whiskey barrel to create a brew.
Guests had the chance to sample all the beers made using the whiskey barrels and voted on their favorite. Shebeen Brewery of Wolcott, CT was named the fan favorite and will receive the rest of the spent barrels from this year, as well as the exclusive commercial rights to the name “Secret Stash” to make a limited edition release using the Secret Stash whiskey barrels, von Gootkin said. All proceeds from the event went to benefit Goodwin College Scholarships.
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- Secret Stash Beer Bash. Guests were able to sample Onyx Moonshine products, as well as competing beer recipes from participating craft brewers.
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- Eryka Wright, Production Manager with Debbie Coggshall, Tasting Room Manager of Onyx Moonshine helped to organize the event.
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- Adam von Gootkin and Pete Kowalczyk, Co-founders of Onyx Moonshine.
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- Shebeen Brewery of Wolcott was named the fan favorite.Rachael Tarka, Taproom Team; John Edward Anderson IV, Fulfillment Manager; Ashley Kearns, Director of Sales and Marketing; Dan Blanchard, Taproom Team; Matthew Bellemare, Head Brewer, all of Shebeen Brewery.
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- Christopher Williams and Scott Edelson, Sales Representatives, Thomas Hooker in Bloomfield.
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- Matt Ferrucci and Christina Ferrucci of Outer Light Brewing Co. in Groton.
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- Jesse Odell of Top Shelf Brewing in Manchester.
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- Sean Juliano and Gordon Whelpley of Stony Creek Brewery in Branford.
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- Vinnie Pelliccione and Brian Gmelin, Sales and Tasting Room staff at Half Full Brewing in Stamford.
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- Linda and Scott King of Powder Hollow Brewing in Enfield.
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- Scott and Michele Vallely of Charter Oak Brewing Co.
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- East Hartford’s Olde Burnside Brewing Company’s Case McClellan, Owner, with Meredith Blake, Director of Sales and Marketing.
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- Marty Schwartz, Willimantic Brewing Company and David Wollner, Manager and Brewer, Willimantic Brewing Company during the Onyx Moonshine Secret Stash Barrel Bash Beer Fest event in August 2015.
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- Black Hog Brewing Co.
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- Onyx Moonshine.
