This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
The nonprofit Colorado Brewers Guild and the Left Hand Brewing Foundation have announced the Colorado Strong Fund, a joint initiative that will support Colorado craft breweries and suppliers while raising funds for healthcare, hospitality, service industry, and gig economy workers across Colorado.
Colorado Strong Pale Ale, a benefit beer made entirely with Colorado ingredients by Colorado breweries, is at the center of the campaign. Participating breweries across the state will brew Colorado Strong Pale Ale, with 20% of sales going to the Colorado Strong Fund. The Left Hand Brewing Foundation will provide all ingredients to participating breweries free of charge and pay each of the suppliers for their products.
“Breweries will brew the beer without having to worry about sinking cash into ingredients, and suppliers will get much-needed checks to help keep their operations afloat,” said Eric Kean, Executive Director of the Left Hand Brewing Foundation. “It’s a win-win, and the 20% that will be returned from sales of the beer is a tax-deductible donation, so breweries will be able to profit from sales of Colorado Strong Pale Ale at a time when they need help.”
“One of the biggest goals of this campaign is to drive consumers to continue purchasing to-go and delivered beer directly from local breweries, which have been hit hard by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” explained Shawnee Adelson, Executive Director of the Colorado Brewers Guild. “Each dollar that consumers spend at nearby independent breweries helps them keep their staff working, provide benefits, and keep the lights on.”
The beer’s recipe is a collaboration between Left Hand Brewing Foundation Treasurer and Great American Beer Fest award-winning homebrewer Mark Boelman, Root Shoot Malting, and Colorado Hop Company.
“Colorado Strong will be a crisp, refreshing Pale Ale perfect for a Colorado summer,” said Boelman. “Cascade hops grown right here on the Front Range and award-winning malts from Root Shoot Malting drive a balanced, full-bodied beer with big notes of citrus and hints of grapefruit.”
In addition to the provided ingredients, the recipe allows for breweries to use a signature hop or tweak it slightly to match their brewery’s identity and style.
“Sticker Giant has generously donated design of the beer labels, which will be provided free of charge to participating breweries,” Kean said.
The label features artwork by Beer Murch, which partnered with the Colorado Brewers Guild in early April on a limited run of “Colorado Strong” t-shirts to raise funds to assist the CBG with its mission as the crisis hit. A new version of the t-shirt featuring the label art and directly benefiting the CBG will be available for purchase at coloradostrongbeer.org.
“Ball Corporation and On Tap Credit Union are also making it possible to offer marketing incentives for the breweries, and we’ve also been able to underwrite the cost of ingredients thanks to their support. This partnership will allow for significant promotion of the program for each brewery to fund their individual promotions of this beer and drive sales from their breweries.”
Decisions on the Colorado Strong Fund’s beneficiaries will be made by an advisory group comprised of representatives from the Colorado Brewers Guild, the Left Hand Brewing Foundation, Colorado Hop Company, Root Shoot Malting, Sticker Giant, the Ball Corporation, and breweries from across the state, based on funding categories identified by the State of Colorado and United Way’s Help Colorado Now campaign.
Brewing of Colorado Strong Pale Ale will kick off across the state starting on May 1, 2020, and consumers can expect to see Colorado Strong Pale Ale available to purchase as soon as May 10.
Additional details on the beer and the Colorado Strong Fund will be available at coloradostrongbeer.org
