As part of Earth Month this April, Hopworks Brewery is taking part in the national Earth To Beer campaign alongside nearly 40 other breweries across the country and hosting a showcase for 8 of them on April 19th from 4:30-7pm at their SE Portland pub.

Earth To Beer is a national movement with a goal for participating breweries to create a packaged beer that’s better for the planet. The initiative seeks to affect change upstream of breweries by asking them to intentionally source environmentally responsible ingredients for their beer, as well as affecting downstream impact by donating a portion of proceeds to a local environmentally-focused nonprofit. Beneficiaries in the NW include Oregon Wild, Sustainable Northwest, Columbia Land Trust, Washington Conservation Action, Adventures Without Limits, Puget Sound Restoration Fund and more.

Breweries began releasing their Earth To Beer beers starting on April 1st and continue through Earth Day on April 22nd. Hopworks hosted showcase on Friday, April 19th at their SE Powell pub will be the best way to try many of these beers altogether on draft in one place. The event will feature Hopworks Earth to Beer Organic West Coast IPA alongside Earth to Beer creations from Ferment, Level, Little Beast, Steeplejack, Aslan, Vice, and Ghostfish. Pints will be flowing from atleast 4:30-7pm. Official event page is here for all the details.

“We created Earth To Beer to advance the conversation about the importance of sourcing sustainable ingredients and supporting good agriculture,” explained Eric Steen, founder of the Earth To Beer movement. “While this is a national campaign in terms of the range of breweries involved and the audience we’re trying to connect with, it’s very much a local initiative in terms of the very real impacts we expect and hope to see.”

Prior to founding Earth To Beer, Steen has had an ongoing history of bringing beer, conservation, and environmentalism together, with projects such as Cheers to the Land, The Oregon I Am, and Beers Made By Walking, a movement that invites brewers to make beer using local ingredients found or inspired by nature hikes and urban walks. 

“Because beer is an agricultural product I’ve been inspired by the relationship between conservation and craft beer for years,” continued Steen. “It just feels like a really organic pathway to make some real change and work with a lot of people who often have the passion to make more sustainable choices but need help establishing a jumping off point.” 

For Earth To Beer, the choice of beer style is at the discretion of each participating brewery, based on what sustainable ingredients they choose to use, as well as creating a beer they know will resonate with their customers. Collectively there is a wide range of styles being created by brewery partners that will add a level of excitement for consumers.

“The creativity and dedication of these breweries is inspiring, and the diversity in styles is exciting,” said Steen. “Aslan Brewing, who are already well known for using certified organic ingredients, is creating a classic Amber Ale using all Salmon-Safe certified hops. Meanwhile, GearHouse Brewing is making an Imperial Honey Wheat Ale brewed with local Pennsylvania honey and aged in whiskey barrels sourced from a Pennsylvania distillery.”

Participating breweries will receive a unique, eye-catching label, created by Earth To Beer, and designed to align with individual brewery’s branding. This approach allows for customization, with the common layout still supporting the movement’s overall look and feel. 

Scholarships to cover costs associated with the initiative were offered for BIPOC-owned and newly opened breweries. These scholarships were funded by Earth To Beer sponsor, Arryved.

Additional sponsors include Canworks and Craft Canning & Printing, both of which are offering special pricing for digitally printed cans, which are a responsible alternative to plastic printed labels that can’t be recycled and contaminate the aluminum recycling stream. Yakima Chief Hops and Salmon-Safe are also sponsors — YCH is offering hop discounts on hops grown on Salmon-Safe farms to breweries for this campaign.

A full list of participating breweries and sponsors can be found at earthtobeer.com. 

About Earth To Beer
Earth To Beer is a national Earth Day beer campaign making local impacts across the United States. The program invites breweries to produce a packaged beer that pushes each brewery’s environmental stewardship practices, and to partner with and give back to environmental organizations.  Learn more at earthtobeer.com.