Brewers help raise money for struggling colleagues through beer sales

Saskatchewan’s craft brewers are filling kegs to help fill the wallets of struggling brewers.

The Saskatchewan Craft Brewers Association has created a “Please Refrigerate This Beer For Charity” — a six per cent prairie berry milkshake IPA — to raise money to help breweries across the province.

Glen Valgardson, general manager of Pile O’ Bones brewing and a board member of the association, said there are breweries struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You have ones that package and can and bottle beers and have distribution like myself, Rebellion (Brewing), Blackbridge and Nokomis. Then you have smaller breweries that are more regionalized to their specific city and neighbourhoods. Those are folks that just keg their beers and really survive off their taprooms,” Valgardson told the Greg Morgan Morning Show. “Most of them don’t qualify for any of the government subsidies that are being offered.”

Every year members of the association put together a collaborative beer in order to raise funds for marketing and grants in the province.

“(They contain) all Saskatchewan ingredients and we all came here about a month ago and brewed it,” Valgardson said. “The beer was never supposed to be put into cans — we were only going to keg it — but with the closure of all the bars and restaurants, we were actually forced to do it.”

The beer was sold at breweries like Pile O’ Bones and Rebellion Brewing but it quickly sold out.

“We sold the remainder of it to the Sobeys (liquor) locations across the province,” Valgardson said. “Those folks have been just great to us so they’re selling it all right now and it’s moving pretty quick.”

And since it has been such a hit, more of the beverage could be on the way.

“(Breweries) are going to need more so we’re thinking of doing another run,” Valgardson said.