When the Camp Fire started in the hills above a Chico brewery on November 8, 2018, it soon became the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. The fire burned more than 153,000 acres, killed at least 85 people, and destroyed more than 13,000 homes.
In the days following the fire, Sierra Nevada announced plans to brew Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, a fundraiser beer for Camp Fire relief. According to a story in the Enterprise-Record, the company has about 50 employees directly impacted by the disaster. They committed to brewing the beer and donating 100% of the sales to the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund, aimed at long-term community rebuilding support. They also asked every brewery in the country to do it with them.
“We sent out the ‘bat signal’ calling our friends in the industry, asking our suppliers to donate ingredients, asking other breweries (our competitors) to donate their time and labor costs, and asking our wholesalers and retailers to carry the beer for free. It was a big ask, and we never could have anticipated the response,” Sierra Nevada said in a statement.
More than 1,400 breweries signed up to brew Resilience. Sierra Nevada’s suppliers donated ingredients to every brewery nationwide. Wholesalers and retailers agreed to carry the beer and donate every dollar they received. All of them agreed to do this for free to benefit people they had never met.
In all, Resilience Butte County Proud IPA planned to release more than 17,000 barrels—or 4.2 million pints. Every dollar Sierra Nevada receives will go to those impacted by the Camp Fire.
You can read more about the brew and where to find it here.
