Craft beer celebration whets appetites for new brews

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From left: Ben Dixey, Dave Cotter, and Patrick Larivee served up a variety of beer to the 350 attendees on Saturday. — Photo by Susan Safford

More than 350 people passed through a long serpentine aisle at Martha’s Vineyard Wine and Spirits on Saturday subjecting themselves to the temptations of dozens of craft beers offered by 18 breweries.

Owner Brion McGroarty said the store’s first “Craft Beer Celebration” was a success. “It gave a lot of people a chance to try a one-ounce taste of beer they would normally have to buy a six-pack to try,” he said.

The beers ranged from sweet Hefeweizens to double hop India Pale Ales and came from as far away as Kansas’s Boulevard Brewing Co. and from as close to home as the Narragansett Brewing Company in Cranston, R.I., and Offshore Ale from Oak Bluffs. Some breweries offered pub glasses or tee-shirts with the purchase of a six-pack. M.V. Wine and Spirits provided hors d’oeuvres.

The liquor store, located at 17A Airport Road next to Flatbread at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport, opened its doors in October. Mr. McGroarty and his son, also named Brion, the general manager, ran Town Provisions Company in Edgartown before starting M.V. Wine and Spirits.

Mr. McGroarty said the next beer tasting will not be before football season begins, but he plans a wine tasting on Saturday, June 7.

M.V. Wine and Spirits, 17A Airport Rd., next to Flatbread, Edgartown. 508-627-7557.