Local breweries get ready to battle at Pizza J

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Pizza and beer is a classic adult treat. You can find this combination at frat houses, bachelor apartments and late-night get-togethers all over the country.

In Rhode Island, both pizza and beer are a big part of the local culture. Each town or city has a few places dishing out quality pies and the same can be said with breweries popping up all over the state with delicious beverages on tap.

These two staples will be combined once again for a pizza-eating contest among a few Rhody based breweries on Thursday, Jan. 30, at Pizza J, located at 967 Westminster St. in Providence.

It’s being advertised as the “Pizza J Brewery Battle,” and the contest will last 15 minutes. Providence’s Beer On Earth and Long Live Beerworks are going to have home-field advantage. West Kingston’s Shaidzon Beer Co. will be representing South County, while Bristol’s Twelve Guns Brewing will be representing the East Bay. Cranston’s Buttonwoods Brewery and Warwick’s Proclamation Ale Co. will also be involved. The winner of the whole thing will take home an actual trophy made by Pizza J.

“We got involved with the event thanks to our good friend Brian Oakley, who is one of the owners of Pizza J. He’s a big fan of us and vice versa,” said Morgan Snyder, owner of Buttonwoods Brewery. “My favorite pizza is definitely a good classic margherita, so hopefully it’ll be part of the contest. We’ve definitely been prepping for this mentally. It’s all about willpower – your body isn’t going to want that sixth or seventh slice, but if I want to win it’s going to accept it.”

The world record for most pizza slices eaten in a single sitting is 83 by schoolteacher and competitive eater Geoff Esper from Oxford, Massachusetts. He did it in 10 minutes in April 2018 at the World Pizza Eating Championship that took place in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada.

While it’s unlikely that one of the contestants will break the record next Thursday, it’s definitely something they can shoot for. It hasn’t been announced which specific pies will be consumed, but there will probably be cheese, pepperoni and perhaps one of Pizza J’s specialty items. Stoughton, Massachusetts-based beer distributor Craft Collective is also a co-sponsor of the event.

The battle will start at 7 p.m. with the whole event lasting until 11pm. There will also be beer from each brewery on tap for attendees and customers to indulge in.

There’s also no cover charge, so it’s a good way to get a head start on the weekend while saving some money. Whether you’re a fan of local craft beer or not, head on over to Pizza J for what should be an entertaining time.

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