Local Brewers Prepare to Shave It All Off for a Cure

Bartenders, employees and friends of three local microbreweries are preparing to shave their beards – and a few heads – to help find a cure for pediatric cancer.

The sixth annual Veredus/HAYS Cut for a Cure Charity Challenge involves a number of “head shaving” events through May with one featuring a competition between Cigar City Brewing, Tangent Brewing and Barley Mow Brewing Company.

The brewery shave-off is set to take place April 9 at Cigar City Brewing, 3924 W. Spruce St., in Tampa starting at 6:30 p.m. All three teams have earmarked their donations to benefit the Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

To show support for a particular brewery, fans can make donations in advance at www.pcfcutforacure.org or by calling 813-269-0955. The fundraising continues through May 15. The brewery that raises the most money will earn the “Golden Clippers” award to display throughout the year. Part of the proceeds from April 9’s drink sales at Cigar City Brewing will also be donated to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

“We thought this would be a great way to engage our employees and customers with a program that can help so many people,” said Justin Clark, Cigar City Brewing’s vice president. “There’s some great beards on our staff and it will be bittersweet to see them go. I’ll be shaving my head though since I wasn’t blessed in the beard department.”

Sponsors of this year’s Cut for a Cure include Veredus/HAYS Recruiting, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Sport Clips Haircuts, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Rays and Buccaneers, Moffitt Cancer Center and USAmeribank.

For those who don’t know, the three breweries in the April 9 shave-off are located at:

• Barley Mow Brewing Company – 518 W. Bay Drive in Largo
• Cigar City Brewing – 3924 W. Spruce St. in Tampa
• Tangent Brewing – This newcomer to the Bay area’s microbrew scene will be located in Safety Harbor. For details, follow it on Facebook.

For more information about Cut for a Cure, visit its website.

Photo from the Cigar City Brewing Facebook page

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