A number of UK breweries have come together to raise funds to help fight India’s covid crisis.
It would take a heart of stone not to react strongly to the funeral pyres on the streets of India, and the pleas to help find sick and dying relatives, and hospitals with oxygen. Goffs Brewery manager, Libby Elswood, decided she would try to do something about it.
She has brought together 15 breweries, under the banner of IPA for India. They will each be brewing their own interpretation of a classic IPA on 17th. They will be sending all of the profits to SEWA UK, a 100% volunteer-run charity that is sourcing oxygen and PPE and establishing connections in the hardest hit rural areas of India.
The band of brewers thought long and hard about whether IPA was appropriate, given its colonial roots, but felt that it was more likely to grab drinkers attention, as IPA holds the top spot as the best-selling craft beer style in the UK, and would raise the most funds.
Who are the breweries?
- Bang the Elephant
- Black Storm Brewery
- Blackjack Brewing Co
- Bliss Brew Co
- Brass Castle Brewery
- Bunnyhop Brewing
- Errant Brewery
- Fresh Standard Brew Co
- Goffs Brewery
- Grafham Brewing Co
- Hollow Stone Brewing Co
- Little Mesters Brewing
- Navigation Brewery
- Ride Brewing Co
- Yorkshire Heart Brewery
‘A visceral response to a country in crisis’
Libby says: “There wasn’t really an idea on how to do this originally, it was just a human reaction to a human crisis. As we are looking at easing restrictions in this country, India is still being ravaged and it’s heartbreaking to see, and I felt there was a real opportunity to make a difference as a brewing community.
“IPA is a natural fit in people’s minds, and this isn’t an attempt to right any wrongs of a past, but simply a visceral response to a country in crisis.”
She added: “We have not only had an astonishing response from brewers wanting to get involved, but also from suppliers — Charles Faram, Crisp Maltings, Lallemand, Morrow Packaging, and Colorscan — as well.”
The breweries will be releasing their beers as and when they’re ready. Keep an eye on their social media and the hashtag #IPAforIndia, as well as trade mailing lists, for details.
