La Cabra Brewing says someone stole their Inquirer Brewvitational trophy

Berwyn’s La Cabra Brewing was psyched to win a first place award in the Inquirer’s annual Brewvitational beer competition last year, but now, the company says tragedy has struck thanks to one handsy patron.

In social media postings Friday, La Cabra indicated that the award — a crystal beer mug trophy — was stolen from its Berwyn headquarters this past weekend. A video of the alleged incident shows a man standing by the trophy for an undetermined amount of time before shoving it down his pants and leaving the building.

La Cabra posted video of the purported theft on Friday, though with an overdub that mocks the alleged thief’s “inner thoughts.” It is unclear whether the company filed a police report in connection with the alleged theft. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The Inquirer awarded the trophy last May following the ninth annual Inquirer Brewvitational, where La Cabra took home first place in the best new beer category for Peter, its popular Flemish red ale. Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LaBan even kicked off his recap of the competition with a shout-out for the brew, and later described it as “gorgeously complex.”

“Beautiful sourness balanced by malt,” wrote one Brewvi judge of the beer. “Yasss!”

Event organizers here at the Inquirer say that while the Brewvitational trophies do come from Tiffany & Co, they aren’t worth too much, monetarily. However, the awards are sentimental for winners, which may explain why La Cabra says it is willing to let the alleged thief go if they receive the trophy back safe and sound.

The company, however, also asked fans to email them at info@lacabrabrewing.com with any information that may lead to the award’s recovery.

“All we really want is the award back,” La Cabra wrote on Instagram. “If it is returned, no harm, no foul.”