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To
my brothers and sisters in brewing,
I, like many of my midwest brewer friends, have participated in several national/global collaborations like"Resilience", "All Together", and "Black Is Beautiful" because that's the beauty of our industry. We are a community focused on doing our best to always
answer the call for help. Now is our time to reach out. We're asking for your help.
On August 10th a destructive storm called a derecho
ripped across Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana bringing winds of over 100 mph along a 700 mile path. More than 1 million residents were left without power. I personally was only without power for four days but at the time of writing this, there are still thousands
without power. Many cities affected are described as looking like a "battlefield". Iowa's corn industry has sustained unimaginable losses with 33% of the state's crop reportedly ruined. Cedar Rapids, Iowa is just one of the many cities hit the hardest, being
described as "utter devastation", with over 800 buildings suffering partial collapse. The storm left a scar so large it can be seen clearly from space.
Our communities need our assistance to clean up, rebuild, and provide food, clothes, and shelter to those who have lost everything at a time when they were most vulnerable. We're asking for help to the farms many of our small communities revolve around. We're asking
for assistance in aiding the small family owned businesses on main street who were struggling from recent COVID shutdowns and long term effects from flood devastation before their building and products were ruined by a "Midwest hurricane".
Glenn
Cole
Brand
Ambassador/ Brewer
Midwest
Ale Works
East
Moline, IL.
The Legend Continues.
Last year a college student attended an Iowa college football game with a posterboard asking for beer money and received social media fame when his image was spread virally across social media platforms. Carson King used his internet notoriety to become an Iowa
Legend, creating a viral campaign which ultimately raised over 3 million dollars to Stead Family Children's Hospital. During this fundraising campaign a certain macro beer brand decided to withdraw their endorsement and Glenn Cole, a craft brewer from Illinois,
answered the call releasing "Iowa Legend" to support the cause.
Since that time the Carson King Foundation non-profit organization has helped raise
thousands upon thousands of dollars for various community efforts in Iowa. Now the two are teaming up again in a big way to help our Midwestern communities and local breweries alike to bounce back after a series of weather and biologically caused hardships.
Glenn, of Midwest Ale Works and Cat's Cradle Artisanal Brewing in East Moline, Illinois, is releasing the "Midwest Legend" blonde ale recipe for use by any brewery worldwide which pledges to donate a minimum of $1 per pint sold to the Carson King Foundation.
The Beer
We chose a blonde ale for several reasons:
1.Pale yellow colored light flavored beer is the most approachable style for people new to craft beer.
2.The recipe is very cheap compared to other styles. Breweries of any size should have no problem affording the ingredients for this beer.
3.The recipe includes a small percentage of brewers corn, paying homage to the area and industry affected the most by this disaster.
4. While brewers are welcome to brew with whatever ingredients they choose to, the provided recipe was built around ingredients sourced from Midwestern producers in Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana and discount codes will be available for using these brands.
We understand most breweries have some sort of blonde ale as a flagship beer so we’re offering several ways to participate:
Rebrand your existing blonde ale for 30 days with a pledged donation per pint and use the provided label template and promotional material.
Make a variant. We actually would encourage you to tweak the recipe with different malts, hops, fruit, spices, vegetables, whatever. Please state the variation on your label though.
Thanks to our supplier partners:
Sugar Creek Malt, Hop Alliance, & Omega Yeast who have made this beer easier, cheaper, faster, and the best quality imaginable.
Participating brewers will receive the following discounts:
10% total purchase from Sugar Creek Malt
$5.99 per pound Bravo hops from Hop Alliance
25% off Lutra yeast from Omega Yeast
Blue Label Packaging is also offering to print labels at cost for participating breweries. This also helps streamline the process with the breweries because they’ll set up pathways internally to expedite ordering.
Participation
If
you are involved in a brewery that would like to participate we ask that you sign up through the following link:
https://forms.gle/aqS5gtPK5WvMaiZd7
A
press release will be released when the website is completed.
A
google drive link will be emailed to all participating breweries including completed label art and templates, social media promotional material, and .bsmx beer recipe file within the next week.
FAQ
Where will the donations be going?
Donations will be made directly to the Carson King Foundation, a registered non-profit to be used directly for aid. No funds will be collected by Midwest Ale Works or participating partners.
Contact for questions:
