Brewgooder looking to sign up 500 beer firms for global initiative

Beer firm Brewgooder is today launching an ambitious initiative to partner with 500 international breweries in a bid to raise at least £250,000 to provide clean water to 100,000-plus people.

'Ultimately every craft brewery in the world has the potential to take part in this,' said Mahon. Picture: contributed.

The Glasgow-based social enterprise is calling on beer firms to join its Global Gathering collaborative brewing project. Participants agree to brew unique, small-batch beers that will be released simultaneously on the weekend of 20 to 22 March 2020. The latter is World Water Day, and coincides with Brewgooder’s fourth anniversary.

Brewgooder founder Alan Mahon told The Scotsman that the project came about to harness the desire by other beer firms to help its work on clean water projects.

Each individual collaboration brew will raise upwards of £500, and all proceeds will be donated to The Brewgooder Foundation, to support its clean water projects.

All proceeds will be donated to The Brewgooder Foundation, to support its clean water projects. Picture: contributed.

To date, 100 breweries have confirmed their involvement – from 11 countries including Denmark, Norway, the US, Australia and Brazil – with participants including Tiny Rebel, Tempest, Vocation, Siren and Harbour in the UK as well as Brooklyn Brewery and its brewmaster Garrett Oliver, Avery Brewing, and Rhinegeist.

Invitations have been sent to beer firms in “every corner of the world”, and “ultimately every craft brewery in the world has the potential to take part in this,” said Mahon.

Vibrant

“The Global Gathering aims to bring together one of the most vibrant and passionate communities in the world in order to show what craft beer can do when it acts together.

“Breweries of every size have the opportunity to not only brew some amazing beers as part of a global movement but also have a very real impact on peoples’ lives around the world.”

The foundation has supported more than 132 clean water projects and helped about 65,000 lives, with Brewgooder having sold about two million cans of its beer – with the help of Ellon-based BrewDog.

Brewgooder has partnered with Crisp Maltings to donate 20 bags of malt to each participating brewery, which will have the freedom to decide the beer they produce and design its packaging, as long as the latter is inspired by the theme “water” and uses orange to represent beer and blue to represent water.

Mahon added: “With water, kids grow up healthier, girls stay in school longer, and people build better lives for themselves. I want the whole craft beer community to make that change for thousands of people this world water day.”

The scheme is also key in the evolution of Brewgooder, he added. “We’ve already got plans for what 2021 and 2022 look like.”