Pretty much every corner of the globe is in shambles right now. Some people respond like CBB, and curl into a ball and lament the situation, waiting for brighter days, and some respond like Bear Republic and Stone Brewing’s distribution division and try and do what they can.
Bear Republic Brewing Co. will be donating 0.50 cents on every case of beer sold, for the next 30 days, to raise funds to help those affected by the devastating Sonoma County Fires.
“Many of our employees and family members have lost their homes and have little to rely on. We are reaching out to our wholesalers and asking for their support through matching funds up to 0.50 cents per case or a one time donation,” the company noted in its email.
Bear Republic will also be joining forces with Russian River Brewing and the King Ridge Foundation and will be brewing a Bear Republic version for the Sonoma Pride release.
“We are are currently working on additional collaborations to be brewed with other Sonoma County breweries to support the victims and firefighters of the 2017 Sonoma County wildfires,” the company noted in its email. Bear Republic will be supplying ingredients and manpower to St. Florian’s Brewery in a mutual aid effort to brew another version of Sonoma Pride and is working on the details with 101 North Brewing for a similar collaboration.
Five Bear Republic employees, including Head Brewer Rob Kent, Cami Kent, Casey Clark, Kaylee Singkeo and Shawn Anderson, specifically need help, and the brewery has set up this page for donations. Bear Republic’s brewpubs will be offering free meals to the first responders involved with the local fires at both restaurant locations in Healdsburg and Rohnert Park, Calif.
Stone Distributing Co. will also be donating a portion of its sales throughout the month of October to benefit those affected by the devastation of the northern California fires. Donations will be made to Direct Relief providing emergency assistance to California’s Office of Emergency Services, the Napa County Public Health Department and more than 40 health centers and clinics in the affected region.
Stone Distributing Co. reps 38 craft and specialty beers from California, across the country and the world.
“We have spoken with Richard Norgrove Sr. and Jr. of Bear Republic, and Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo of Russian River and verified that they are personally OK and that their businesses are safe,” said Dominic Engels, Stone Brewing CEO. “However, they have many employees, colleagues, friends, family and neighbors who have been dramatically affected in this historically tragic set of northern California wildfires. We cannot sit idle with such devastation at hand.”
The thoughts of many Southern Californians this week are with their northern California brothers and sisters, especially at Stone Brewing, where the team is anticipating the opening of its Napa brewery this December. With a tragedy of such huge proportion, Stone is taking immediate action. For the month of October (retroactive to October 1):
- For every case of Bear Republic and Russian River beer sold by Stone Distributing Co., the company will donate $0.25.
- Stone will further donate $0.25 for every case of Stone Brewing beer sold in Southern California.
- Stone Brewing will donate $0.15 for every case of Stone beer sold via its wholesale distribution partners throughout the rest of California.
What’s more, in an act of amazing solidarity that is characteristic of the independent craft brewing community, the following list of brands distributed by Stone Distributing Co. have committed to splitting a donation of $0.25 per case for the entire month.
- Avery Brewing Co.
- Kern River Brewing Co.
- MadeWest Brewing Co.
- Mason Ale Works
- Maui Brewing Co.
- Mikkeller Brewing
- Smog City Brewing Co.
- The Bruery
- The Lost Abbey
- Victory Brewing Co.
- Wandering Aengus Ciderworks
This is the initial list at press time. More are anticipated to be added as brewers are able to respond, and you can check out the final list here. Stone Distributing Co. anticipates that this effort will allow the company to donate more than $50,000 to fire relief charities.
“Russian River and Bear Republic are incredibly appreciative of all the support Stone Distributing Co. and its partner breweries are giving Sonoma County,” expressed Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing owner and brewer. “Additionally, Russian River and Bear Republic are also doing their own fund raising efforts to help those in need.”
To date, Stone Brewing has donated more than $3.3 million to charity. In addition, Stone Brewing is donating $1 of every pint or growler fill of Stone Delicious IPA to Direct Relief to aid Hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico. The campaign continues throughout the month of October at all Stone Brewing locations. In September, the company donated proceeds to the Houston Food Bank via a similar campaign aiding Hurricane Harvey victims.
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