Design Your Own Beer Stein at the Butcher Shop's Summer Arts & Kegs Series

Despite lingering Zika concerns, the Butcher Shop's Summer Arts & Kegs Series launches Thursday night. The Wynwood-based beer garden and restaurant will host an arts-and-crafts-like session where beer drinkers will be encouraged to purchase a brew and design its corresponding stein. 

"Being situated in the heart of the Wynwood Arts District," owner Fred Niznik says, "an arts-and-crafts type of event is something we had in mind for a while."

"We wanted to wait until summer to do something fun for locals in the area," he adds, "as well as professional artists, and we knew that combining arts and beer was the next logical step."

You can participate in the contest simply by purchasing a beer. As you sip, the restaurant will provide you with a beer stein to use as a blank canvas. Your stein will be judged by fellow Butcher Shop patrons, who will look for creativity and originality. The top four contestants of the evening will move on to the second and final round to design an individual keg. 

"We have four half-kegs for the second round and can’t wait to display those masterpieces around the restaurant," Niznik says. 
Though the most creative stein-makers will advance to keg designing, Niznik says that all contestants, regardless of artistic ability, have a fair shot at winning the series' grand prize — a $100 gift card to the restaurant, along with the chance for the winning piece to remain on display. The second-place winner will receive $75, the third will receive $50, and the fourth will receive $25, which at the Butcher Shop is enough to purchase a variety of sausages and sips, plus a few brews.

If you're wary about spending the evening in South Florida's infamous Zika zone, Niznik says don't be. The restaurant is taking extra precautions to ensure guests' safety during the event. Mosquito-repellent spray and wristbands will be available. Citronella candles, whose natural oil is known to ward off insects, will be scattered around too.

The Butcher Shop's first round begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 11. The second round begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 25. For more information, visit thebutchershopmiami.com or call 305-846–9120.

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