A group of local firefighters and local craft beer fans downed some unique beers this past Saturday to benefit a great cause.

Bomberos de San Diego, a local non-profit comprised of firefighters and emergency responders within the San Diego Fire Department, celebrated their fourth annual Firefighter Home Brew Contest on Saturday, Oct. 14 at Little Italy’s Firehouse Museum.

SDFD Captain and Bomberos de San Diego President Oscar Saucedo spoke about the Bomberos’ activities and the event with La Prensa San Diego.

“As members of Bomberos de San Diego, we give back to the community by paying dues and holding fundraisers in benefit of scholarship funds, events such as turkey dinners around Christmas time, and to work with different organizations throughout the year.”

“Bomberos also has a binational manager who goes down to our sister city of Tijuana and has meetings with their fire chief and mayor to see how we can help out down there,” Saucedo continued. “We regularly host training sessions with Tijuana firefighters as well.”

The event brought together members of the Bomberos organization and other fire-related professionals who share an interest in brewing to compete in a tasting competition to crown the best suds.

The competition had 40 different beers to taste from, most brewed by firefighters. Beers developed by members of the Quality Ale and Fermentation Fraternity (QUAFF), a local brewers club, were on tap at this event along with beers donated from Ballast Point Brewing Company.

“I got to taste a lot of the beers and was very surprised by the quality and creativity of the beers,” said Travis Hammond, a Quaff member who helped in the judging process. “I was impressed.”

Post-event attendance estimates point at over 650 attendees at the event with total sales surpassing $16,500.

A portion of all money raised from contest entry fees, merchandise sales, and admission tickets goes back into the different programs Bomberos de San Diego runs.

The event has not only been successful in raising funds, but also has garnered a group of yearly attendees.

“I’ve been going to the (contest) since it first started and it continues to grow and grow because these guys put on a great event for a great cause,” shared San Diego Fire Captain Matt Spicer. “It’s really super fun and the causes supported by these guys are things to truly care about.”