Beer has been good to you. It’s time to return the favor.
“For me, life happens in a pub, whether you’re celebrating something or catching up or walking with someone through a rough patch, it usually happens over a beer,” says Joel Gregory, founder and president of Ex Novo Brewing Co., a forthcoming brewpub in Portland, Oregon, that will give 100 percent of its profits to charities making a difference around the world.
Other breweries and pubs have begun to brew up philanthropic efforts around the country too. Check out any of these seven beer-based businesses that want you to drink good beer and do good for others.
This Portland, Oregon, pub was one of the first beer halls to integrate a charitable aspect to their operation by donating 100 percent of their earnings to non-profits. After ordering a beer, customers at The Oregon Public House then choose which local charity they want their proceeds to go to. Talk about a feel-good buzz.
Opening its doors later this summer, this brewpub gains all of its funding via private donations and has committed to supporting four charities by donating 100 percent of its net proceeds from the pub. Unlike any other non-profit operation, Ex Novo (which translates to “from scratch”), brews their own beers, with the help of former Stone and Boneyard brewer Ian Greene. Along with seasonal brews and locally-sourced pub food, Ex Novo will feature a pale ale, IPA, IRA, pilsner, stout, and saison.
3. Great Divide Brewing Company
Located in Denver, Colorado., this brewery features nine year-round brews and more than 12 rotating seasonals, as well as their limited release and pilot beers (grab their Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout when its available). With so many options to choose from, the owners found themselves serving up countless samples to guests touring their taproom. So they decided to donate 100 percent of the proceeds from the $1 sips to a new local charity every month.
4. Finnegans
The mission: Turn beer into food. This Minnesota brewer wants to eliminate hunger in their community by donating 100 percent of the profits from their Blonde Ale and Irish Amber to the Finnegan’s Community Fund. The non-profit then uses the entirety of those funds to buy fresh produce from local farms and donate it all to local food shelves.
5. Two22 Brew
Located in Centennial, Colorado, this microbrewery believes that beer drinkers should “give where you live, drink what you love.” In keeping with their mission statement, they partnered with a local foundation to help support educational- and environmental-based Colorado non-profits. Now they donate $2.22 of every $10 they make from the sale of their handcrafted brews. Try their Milk Stout or their 94 IBU Session IPA.
Based (naturally) in Bozeman, Montana, this brewery created a program called Sunday FUNDay where 50 cents from every pint sold makes its way to a featured non-profit of the week.
This brewing company’s passion for preserving the planet’s best ingredients doesn’t stop with their brewing methods. Not only does the brewery produce about 18 percent of its own electricity on site, but it is also a member ofonepercentfortheplanet.org. Through the site, New Belgium donates one percent of all sales around the country to environmental stewardship, making it even more enticing to stock up on bottles of their delicious Fat Tire. For a good cause, of course.