Staff photo by Connor Cummiskey Bailey DeVetter with Chankaska Creek Ranch and Winery pours samples at her table during the Brown County Humane Society’s wine and beer tasting gala Thursday night at the New Ulm Country Club.

NEW ULM — An estimated 300 people took a little “hair of the dog” Thursday night at the Brown County Humane Society (BCHS) wine and beer tasting gala.

Guests could sample 85 types of wine and beer from 15 different producers along a line of tables. They could bid in a silent auction and a new bead game.

“It is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” Chairperson Amy Bloedel said. “It typically generates probably a net of about $10,000 for the shelter and it is used to care for the animals and ongoing costs associated with that.”

BCHS volunteers wandered the event with beaded necklaces they were selling for $10. Each person who purchased one later played a game called heads or tails.

Bloedel flipped a coin and each participant had to grab either their own head or tail to guess the result. Whoever was wrong was eliminated. The last one standing won $250.

Otherwise, guests could eat hors d’oeuvres and listen to the music of Ken and Ken and the Emcee Todd Olson.

“Last year we were able to save 465 animals and we are on track to save at least that many this year,” Bloedel said. “So we appreciate all of the support that the public and donors give to us. We could not do it without them.”