Craft brewers pride themselves on their originality, but this month several around town will tap a beer brewed with the same recipe and ingredients.
These local brewers and more than a thousand others across the country have teamed up to brew Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, with all of the proceeds from that beer benefiting the Camp Fire Relief Fund. The campaign was spearheaded by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico, Calif., a town that’s about 15 minutes west of Paradise, which suffered the most destruction from last month’s Camp Fire. In addition to donating all proceeds from the beer, Sierra Nevada is also covering the cost of ingredients for brewers who signed up to brew the beer prior to Dec. 7.
Sierra Nevada and many others brewed the beer on Giving Tuesday, which was the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. The global movement encourages individuals and businesses alike to give back to the charities of their choice. On that same day, NoDa Brewing Co. founders Todd and Suzie Ford accepted an award for Outstanding Philanthropic Small Business at the National Philanthropy Day awards luncheon, presented by the Charlotte chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Suzie Ford, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, didn’t think twice about adding another charitable effort.
“Growing up in California, sadly, wildfires and earthquakes are commonplace,” Ford said, “but a fire of this magnitude is even more heartbreaking than normal because it’s not normal. We always strive to do good in our community and world. Once Sierra Nevada put out the call for the Camp Fire relief efforts with the Resilience IPA, as a proud Californian, I felt an even bigger urge to help.”
Dan Wade, co-founder and head brewer at Wooden Robot Brewery in South End, said he and his staff felt the same desire to give back.
“We chose to participate in the Resilience IPA brew because it is important to us that we are responsible members of both the local and brewing communities,” Wade said. “The fires in California have been so disastrous, and some of our staff’s friends and family have been affected. What Sierra Nevada has done to help raise funds and bring awareness to this environmental disaster is amazing, and we are proud to be a part of it.”
The DreamChaser’s Brewery in Waxhaw is located in a building that once housed the town’s volunteer fire department, but they didn’t have the capacity to add the beer into their production schedule. They instead teamed up with the folks at Cavendish Brewing Co. in Gastonia for a collaborative effort. And Beau Norwood, founder of Ole Dallas Brewery in Dallas, invited members of his town’s fire department out to witness the brewing process as he brewed a batch of Resilience IPA.
If you want to try the beer, you’ll need to visit the local brewery of your choice. Most of the breweries should be putting the beer on tap in mid to late December, and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. — which also has a brewery in Mills River, North Carolina — will release cans of the beer later this month as well.
Participating area breweries: Bold Missy Brewery, Cabarrus Brewing Co. (Concord), Cavendish Brewing Co. (Gastonia), The DreamChaser’s Brewery (Waxhaw), Legal Remedy Brewing (Rock Hill), NoDa Brewing Co., Ole Dallas Brewery (Dallas), Salud Cerveceria, Suffolk Punch Brewing, Triple C Brewing, Twenty-Six Acres Brewing Co. (Concord), The Unknown Brewing Co., Wooden Robot Brewery.
This story was originally published December 06, 2018 7:52 AM.