We like to think that in the beer blogging community, there is no competition. We’re all in this together, after all, for the celebration of beer. That’s why we’re happy to tell you that our good friends at the New Jersey Craft Beer site are celebrating tomorrow with a launch party, and it’s for a good cause, too.

From 4-8pm tomorrow, the Copper Mine Pub (323 Ridge Rd., at Crystal St., North Arlington, NJ) will host their launch with a bevy of New Jersey’s finest beverages and stuff from out of state, too. Among the beers on tap will be the new red ale in Flying Fish’s Exit Series, Exit 9, the very last keg of New Jersey Beer Co.’s winter seasonal, Weehawken Wee Heavy, a cask of River Horse Oatmeal Stout with mint, and many more. The full list is at their site.

Best of all, proceeds will go to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. And if you bring two canned, nonperishable goods to donate, you’ll be entitled to a sample of a homebrewed Black IPA from Bob Olson’s Bolero Snort Brewing. Give food, get beer! Doesn’t get much better than that.

The end of the week is almost here! Here are the beer-related goings-on after work tonight:

• It’s Blue Point night at Barcade (388 Union Ave., at Ainslie St., Williamsburg) tonight starting at 5pm, with 12 of the finest taps to come out of Patchogue, including their Toxic Sludge Black IPA, Sour Cherry Imperial Stout, and the 2009 vintage Old Howling Bastard barleywine.
• San Diego’s Ballast Point takes over the taps tonight at 7pm at Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope), with lots of their flagship offerings and two rare casks: Tongue Buckler Imperial Red Ale, dry-hopped with Willamette and Brewers Gold hops, and Sea Monster Imperial Stout on rum-soaked oak chips.
• You might call it The Full Vermonty: Long Trail and their two recent brand acquisitions - Otter Creek and Wolavers - take over all the taps at The Pony Bar (637 10th Ave. at 45th St., Hell’s Kitchen) tonight starting at 6pm. Look for some of Long Trail’s Brewmaster’s Reserve Series beers, as well as the delicious Otter Creek Alpine Black IPA.
• And we saved the best for last: Vintage Beer Night at The Gate (321 5th Ave., at 3rd St., Park Slope) starts at 7pm, with several nicely matured offerings, like a 2009 Cigar City Espresso Maduro, a 2008 Avery/Russian River Collaboration Not Litigation, and a 2007 Goose Island Matilda.

It’s no steel cage, but beer and wine will battle in Hearth’s dining room on Monday. (Photo via Hearth/Katherine Bryant Flaherty)

You all know where we stand in the battle of beer versus wine, but next Monday, March 14th, Marco Canora’s Hearth (403 E. 12th St., at 1st Ave., East Village) will let their diners have the final say in their Beer vs. Wine Dinner.

The two sides will fight it out over a three-course dinner, with each course being paired with both a wine and a craft beer. Among the beer pairings, carefully curated by Operations Manager David Flaherty, are Sly Fox Pikeland Pils, Hopf Spezial Weisse, Founders Old Curmudgeon, and the fantastic Dieci barleywine from Italian brewer Birrificio Brùton. And it’s sort of personal: David’s beers will go up against a wine list from Hearth’s Wine Director, Paul Grieco.

The full dinner is $90 all-inclusive. To book, you can call the restaurant at 646-602-1300, or e-mail Paul directly through Hearth’s website.

We don’t like to play favorites, but man, we’re really pulling for the beer.

The full menu is after the jump.

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If you didn’t give up beer for Lent, then here are the beer-related goings-on after work tonight:

• Brooklynites can enjoy a free tasting of Dogfish Head at Greene Grape Provisions (753 Fulton St., at S. Portland Ave., Fort Greene) tonight from 5:30-7:30pm. It’s part of their “March Beer Madness” series of tastings, which continues with Blue Point and Tröegs on the next two Wednesdays.
• On the East Side, Manchester Pub (920 2nd Ave., at 49th St., Midtown East) has a Harpoon tasting from 6-8pm. Quench your thirsty with some tasty beers from Vermont tonight.

Here are the beer-related goings-on after work tonight, complete with obscenely gluttonous food pairings:

You can probably imagine that Louisiana’s Abita will be the craft beer of the night tonight across the city, and you’ll find it all over the place:

• Standings (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) will be pouring Purple Haze, Bock, and more starting at 6pm, along with free pizza with cajun spices.
• David Copperfield’s (1394 York Ave., at 74th St., Upper East Side) will have Jockamo IPA, Restoration Ale, and more on tap starting at 6pm. Plus, they’ll have Abita merchandise for sale, with 100% of proceeds going to the SOS Fund. To gorge on something before Lent begins, we recommend David Copperfield’s dangerously delicious Chili Cheese Fries.
• The Stag’s Head (252 E. 51st St., at 2nd Ave., Turtle Bay) will have Andy Gator bock, Golden Ale, and several other brews from the bayou on draft tonight at 6pm. Meanwhile, Chef Bruce will be whipping up Po’ boys, etoufee, beignets, and shrimp and grits to make it a true Fat Tuesday.
• All three bars in the Dive Bar chain - Dive 75 (101 W. 75th St., at Columbus Ave., Upper West Side), Dive Bar (732 Amsterdam Ave., at 96th St., Upper West Side), and Broadway Dive (2662 Broadway, at 101st St., Upper West Side) - have tons of Abita on tap all night long, including the Turbodog and Mardi Gras Bock. If you’re hungry and at the 96th Street location, get the “F*$K*N Good Sandwich,” which will satisfy your Fat Tuesday urge to stuff your face and cuss.
• The Mardi Gras-themed $10 Tasting tonight at 7:30pm at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) also features Abita, pouring S.O.S. and Select Black IPA, along with France’s Thellier La Bavaisienne and Thiriez Extra. Hungry? Get an order of Jimmy’s beer sausage, as dirty as that suggestion might sound.
• Mudville 9 (126 Chambers St., at W. Broadway, Tribeca) will have six Abita beers on draft for a tasting tonight from 6-8pm, including the Red Ale and Amber. Stuff yourself with a bucket of their wings, which come in 11 different flavors.

There are also some non-Abita events going on tonight:

• Rogue takes over the taps at Rattle-N-Hum (14 E. 33rd St., at 5th Ave., Midtown) today at 4pm for an event they’re cleverly calling “Shake, Rattle, and Rogue.” Sebbie Buhler, the long-time Mid-Atlantic rep for Oregon’s third-largest brewery, will be on hand from 6-9pm as they pour 30 different brews - both regulars and rarities. Look out for XS Russian Imperial Stout, Chipotle Ale, Chatoe Rogue Dirtoir Black Lager, and the return of the John’s Locker Stock Series with Charlie 1981.
• Stone will be on tap at Good Beer NYC (422 E. 9th St., btw. 1st Ave. and Ave. A) tonight, with a sampling event starting at 6:30pm. Get free tastes of Ruination, Sublimely Self-Righteous, and the Chipotle Smoked Porter and check out the bottle selection in-store.
• Lagunitas is the subject of this week’s free Tuesday Tasting at Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope) tonight at 7pm. You’ll get to sample five different delicious beers with Lagunitas’ Mark Sljukic.

Our usual trivia night at Destination is cancelled this month, as it’s Fat Tuesday, and who wants to answer a bunch of trivia questions on the night before Lent starts? (Likely answer: anyone who doesn’t observe Lent.)

We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming again with more trivia on Tuesday, April 12th.