Brawny, bearded brewers bare nearly all in calendar to raise money for charity

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – If hops make you hot, and you like your men like your beer — stout — these guys have just the thing for you.

A group of brawny, bearded brewers from the Sheboygan area has posed mostly nude for a calendar that is raising money for charity.

The 2015 Brew Men Calendar features 11 brewing professionals from 3 Sheeps Brewing, 8th Street Ale Haus and Plymouth Brewing Co. Proceeds from the calendar, which can be bought online or at various bars, grocers and liquor stores in Wisconsin and northern Illinois, will be donated to the Movember Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on men’s health issues, including prostate and testicular cancer.

Unsurprisingly, the idea came about when they were enjoying a few beers. After Kurt Jensen, owner of 8th Street Ale Haus, began talking to some of his brewing buddies about doing charity work, the group of beer-lovers eventually came up with something similar to a swimsuit calendar.

Grant Pauly, founder of 3 Sheeps, said he hopes the calendars will raise awareness and stimulate conversations about men’s health, he told Sheboygan Press Media (http://shebpr.es/1xTr2us ).

“I was down in Chicago when someone who saw the group photo on our Facebook page came up to me and we ended up having a 20 minute conversation,” he said.

The photos were shot in early October by a professional photographer who doubles as a beer enthusiast. Each month of the calendar depicts a different step of the brewing process.

Jensen said convincing the guys to take off their clothes for a good cause was easier than he expected, and Pauly agreed.

“Putting the calendar together, that was pretty easy,” said Pauly. “We have the most difficult part ahead; getting the word out.”

The calendar marks the first fundraising effort of Brewers Against Bad Things, a group that Pauly and Jensen recently founded to raise money for charitable causes.

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Information from: Sheboygan Press Media, http://www.sheboygan-press.com