Collateral damage: Sadly, the era of "One Night with the Publican" guided tasting certificates for charity has ended, at least for now.

I can't remember when the tradition started of my donation of certificates for private beer tastings to worthy non-profit organizations for their use in fund-raising, typically at silent auctions. If pressed to guess, perhaps ten years. Some of these organizations have been repeat customers, year after year. The total number of certificate redemptions over this span of time probably has been somewhere between 75 and 100.

It's been a wonderful ride, and a great way of leveraging value for positive results. I'm proud of it. The certificates cost NABC only a few ounces of beer per attendee, breadsticks and my time, anywhere between one hour and three, depending on the interest of the particular group. These tastings kept me sharp and on my toes. There was the occasional dud, but my memories are uniformly excellent.

It's February, the usual calls and e-mails are coming through, and I'm obliged to be the bearer of bad tidings. Owing to my estrangement from NABC -- I remain a shareholder, albeit one stripped of corporate offices and with no say or day to day presence -- this charitable component has come to an end. I hate to say no; alas, I cannot say yes.

Maybe as time passes, I'll come up with something similar. Maybe something similar might work with another local establishment, whether brewer, bar or restaurant. Maybe next year. For the time being, I see little choice except to wait until another method of operation presents itself.

This makes me feel awful, but there's not much I can do. Sorry.