Though the Yale College Council’s “mixology class” at Box 63 turned out to be more of a beer tasting, attendees didn’t seem to mind.
The YCC advertised the event in several emails to the student body as a Mixology/Burger class, but the seven students who showed up at the restaurant Tuesday evening were directed upstairs for what waiters at the door termed a “tasting.” Though participants said they expected the event to be more formal, they agreed that the changes were to their liking.
“I think the mixology class brand was put on it to make more people want to come,” said attendee Casey Watts ’12. “It was kind of misleading. But I don’t think anyone minded — it’s free Box 63.”
Though the YCC had planned to cap the event at 20, only 12 students expressed interest, and of these, only seven attended. Thompson said the size of the group did not change her approach to the event, though it did allow for a more enjoyable night.
To begin the night, Box 63 marketing and events manager Bethany Thompson led attendees through a sampling of three varieties of in-house beer, served in shot glasses and then plastic cups after the bar ran out of glasses. Thompson, who was balancing her duties leading the group with waiting on other bar customers, included a trivia question with each successive sample. The student that answered the question correctly won a free beer, and Thompson said this would not have been possible had the expected number of Elis shown up.
After these three initial drinks, Thompson brought out samplings of Box 63 fare including two varieties of hamburger and french fries, accompanied by continued drinks and trivia.
Watts remarked that the mushrooms on one burger might make his allergies act up. “But that’s okay — I plan to be passed out by the end of the night anyway,” he added, drawing laughs from his fellow attendees.
Following the burgers, Thompson brought one more round of beers before the night ended. Students who elected to stay for a full meal following the event were given a 50 percent discount.
“With such an intimate group, I might as well have a little fun with them,” she said.
In an email to the News Tuesday night, YCC Events Director Katie Donley ’13 said the direction the event took was never supposed to be decided by the YCC. She said the original idea for the event and the marketing that preceded it centered around a “mixology class,” but the YCC left the end result entirely up to Box 63.
“I think in the planning of it, it probably just naturally shifted to a beer tasting,” Donley said.
Thompson said that, after being contacted by the YCC, she worked with the management of Box 63 to lay out a night that would bring as much entertainment as possible to attendees.
The Box 63 beer tasting is part of a week-long group of YCC-sponsored “Food Week” festivities.