When Ken Grossman addresses the beer community, brewmasters everywhere stand up and take notice. He has that kind of clout.
Grossman, the founder of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico, is a true pioneer of the craft beer movement and is credited with influencing the tastes of millions of beer drinkers. He's also a longtime Butte County resident, and as the Camp Fire raged nearby Grossman knew he had to do something to help relief efforts. He decided to craft a specialty brew, Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, and donate 100% of the proceeds to the Camp Fire Relief Fund.
And then he did something really smart: He asked for a bit of help.
"I’m sending a letter to brewers across the country, inviting them to join us in this effort," Grossman wrote on the Sierra Nevada website. "We are working with malt, hop, and yeast suppliers to provide raw ingredient donations to all participating breweries and are asking those breweries to donate 100 percent of their sales to the fund, as well."
The community rallied around his request. In a matter of days, more than 1,000 brewers agreed to brew Resilience IPA, and Grossman's dream of having the brew "in taprooms all over the country to create a solid start for our community's future" was well under way. He even posted the recipe online so homebrewers can participate.
You can do your part by visiting one of the breweries listed here and ordering a pint of Resilience, and you can buy the packaged version of Resilience Butte County Proud IPA when it hits store shelves in late December.