Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s 2018 Resilience IPA has inspired Australian brewers to create a similar movement, Resilience Beer, in response to devastating brush fires in Australia.
Wildfires in Australia have burned more than 15 million acres since December. More than 100 fires were burning at one point, overwhelming response crews. Australia’s Resilience Beer campaign “came from a desire in the local beer industry to find ways to support those impacted by and fighting the fires,” according to Australia’s Independent Brewers Association.
You’ll remember the worldwide response to the call for help from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company after the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, California. The fire killed 85 people and destroyed nearly 19,000 structures, many of them homes, in the communities where the brewery’s employees live.
Heartbroken for the community that supported the brewery for 40 years, brewery founder Ken Grossman wrote an open letter asking breweries to brew Resilience IPA, release it at their own breweries, with the proceeds going to the Camp Fire Fund. Suppliers even donated hops and barley to help defray the cost for breweries who were involved.
Australia Resilience Beer is following the same model, leaning on guidance from the independent U.S. craft brewery to get the movement going.
(READ: Two Brewers, Two Towns, and the Unpredictable Kincade Fire)
“Sierra Nevada has been hugely helpful and supportive in getting the Australian effort live. Ken Grossman reached out in support and offered to assist,” says Tiffany Waldron, who is coordinating Australia Resilience Beer. “The Sierra Nevada team has helped with creating the imagery and also with their learnings from the Resilience IPA Camp Fire campaign.”
Tiffany tells us the Australia Resilience Beer recipe was “designed so that it could easily be brewed from anywhere in the world,” and that craft breweries from all over, include the United States, have reached out wanting to help. She says she’s hearing from breweries “hourly” who are ready and willing to respond.
The Australia Resilience campaign has a website with details on how breweries and others in the craft beer community worldwide can get involved. If you’re a beer lover who is curious about where you can sample the Australia Resilience Beer, stay tuned. The organization plans to release more info in the coming weeks.
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