“You get to drink and help kids!” was the refrain of the day at the ninth annual Buffalo Brewfest in the pavilion of HSBC Arena Saturday afternoon.

Most said the assessment seemed accurate.

The four-hour tasting drew 24 breweries, 95 beers and about 2,500 thirst-quenched beer fans to the event, which has raised thousands of dollars each year for the Buffalo Speech and Hearing Center.

“In Buffalo, it’s a way to bring people together,” said Joe Cozzo, president and CEO of the center that helps youths and adults with communication issues. “Beer happens to be the venue.”

For $40 at the door, attendees received a 4-ounce glass and 20 drink tickets. From there, tasters were free to indulge in a selection of pale ales, Englishstyled stouts and German-tinted hefeweizens that came from Western New York, New York City and Pennsylvania.

It’s all part of the business of running a modern microbrewery, said Timothy Herzog, president of Flying Bison Brewing Co.

Herzog originally spearheaded Brewfest as a way to find customers for regional beer makers who lack the advertising budgets and economies of scale of major manufacturers, he said.

“We don’t have TV ads or NFL sponsorships,” he said. “The best way to win a customer is to hand them some and say, ‘Try this.’ ”

Greg Pasicznyk, 22, came from Brooklyn Brewery of New York City to show off two European- style beers the company recently contracted to sell at some Buffalo grocery stores.

“We’re seeing a resurgence in American brewing,” he said. “It’s important to know where it came from.”

Even with all the testing, organizers said over-served attendees were a rarity, and they had arranged for a cab service if need be. Most attendees arranged for a designated driver, they said.

Tom Behrendt, 33, chose to ride his bike from North Buffalo.

“It’s downtown on a Saturday, and this is the most amount of people I can find in one place,” said Behrendt. “It’s a good event for Buffalo.”