Making good on their ethos of beer as a source for good, more than 180 breweries in 25 states, as well as in four countries, are releasing their takes on “We Love L.A.” beer beginning this month.
Common Space Brewery in Hawthorne launched the campaign after realizing wildfire victims could be better served by financial help.
“In the days after the fires, we all started gathering donations, volunteering and doing everything we can, up to a point collection centers were overwhelmed with donated emergency supplies,” said Hannah Barnett, brand director of Paso Robles-based Firestone Walker, which has a taproom in Venice.
Breweries soon signed up to create their version of beer, coming up with ales and lagers to honor the communities where the Palisades and Eaton Fires burned nearly 60,000 acres, killing 29 people and destroying more than 16,000 structures.
Aside from breweries, other industry-related suppliers offered discounts on everything from hops and malts to yeast, labels, cans and packaging. A portion of proceeds will be donated to United Way of Greater LA’s Wildfire Response Fund.
“By allowing breweries to choose their preferred style and develop their own recipe, we hope this will make it as simple as possible for any interested brewery to participate,” said Brett Knapp, founder and CEO of Common Space, which kicked off the project with a $10,000 donation.
“It’s been really cool to see there are a lot of breweries that have jumped in to help pitch,” Barnett said. “You hate when things like the wildfires happen, but good to see the beer community come together and work so hard to make it positive.”
Participating breweries, including five from Japan, the Philippines and Australia, are offering beers they think best represents the expansive L.A. vibe. All are limited editions.
Firestone Walker’s homage, available at their Venice location today, is a West Coast pilsner, a lager beer, something light and easy drinking, perfect for better weather in the horizon, Barnett said.
Common Space’s offering is a hoppy pilsner that is “SoCal-y light, just like LA knows how to do.” Malibu Brewing Company, which closed down during the earliest days of the Palisades fire, is also participating, as is Crown and Hops in Inglewood, whose co-owner has ties to Altadena. Claremont Craft Ales “We Love L.A.” beer is a light West Coast IPA with “aromas of guava and berries with flavors of tropical fruits and candied orange.”
Aside from serving a drop-off location for wildfire relief donations, Whittier Brewing Company is also participating.
On Feb. 22, Weir Beer in Vista also held a party for the initiative and an Altadena family that lost their home in the fire. On March 22, the We Love L.A. NoHo Pub Crawl happens throughout the NoHo Arts District.
Other events celebrating the beer collaborations have also benefited the American Red Cross, YMCA Westchester, Family Forward in Pasadena, It’s Bigger Than Us LA, and Animal Wellness Foundation.
The campaign has raised more than $325,000 so far, according to Knapp, who added “it further proves that the craft beer industry is here for each other, even in our most difficult times.”
Direct donations can be made to the United Way website (unitedwayla.org) with dedications made to “We Love LA” to be included in the campaign’s count.
Michael Chung of Hawthorne dropped by Common Space on March 13, and found out about the special distribution as well as another beer release to benefit local firefighters. He chose the We Love L.A. beer on tap to go with his burger lunch.
“It’s great we get another way to help, and good for people who like beer because you’re definitely not getting the same thing with each beer from different breweries,” he said.
Brewing beers for a cause is nothing new. In 2019, Russian River in Sonoma County introduced its Sonoma Pride India Pale Lager after the brewery was forced to evacuate because of the Kincaid Fire nearby. Before that, more than 50 breweries to raise more than $1.1 million for wildfire relief efforts in Sonoma and Napa counties, according to Russian River co-founder Vinnie Cilurzo.
In 2018, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. brewed Resilience Butte County Proud IPA to raise funds for those impacted by the Camp Fire. Maui Brewing and hundreds of other breweries around the country joined in the international Kokua Project which raised $1.5 million for Maui wildfire victims.