Brew Ukraine
Brew for Ukraine
North Texas hobbyist brewers are participating in a "victory brew day" on Saturday, National Homebrewers Day, in which they will use a special Ukrainian recipe to brew up support and raise funds for humanitarian relief in Europe.
Inspired by Pravda Brewery in Lviv, Ukraine, professional brewers and homebrewers around the world have joined a movement to support Ukrainian nonprofits through beer-making. According to a news release, Pravda's founder Yuri Zastavny switched from bottling beer to making Molotov cocktails, prompting viral fame that has traveled the globe.
“My first batch of beer was 8 liters (2 gallons), probably my best beer ever. Pravda Brewery is seven years old now. Sometimes we do three batches of 20 hectoliter (528 gallons) a day but the spirit is like we still make 8 liters,” Zastavny said in the release. “Small-scale brewing is always rebellious. It’s for diversity, democracy and fairness. This is what this war is about for the Ukrainians. We fight for our freedom and identity.”
Local homebrewers can brew their own small-batch variations of Pravda recipes by purchasing a 5-gallon recipe kit form BrewHound — Fort Worth's only homebrew supply store — with a portion of the proceeds going toward World Central Kitchen, a non-profit that’s feeding refugees across Europe.
“We might not be able to go and join the fight or provide weapons but we can support the people who are there fighting the fight and caring for those who are displaced,” BrewHound owner Christopher Bart said in the release. “Beer and brewing have always been very communal things. When brewers in Ukraine ask for help, we step up just like we would if it was a crisis in North Texas. They are us.”
Already, more than 400 professional craft brewers have raised more than $4 million for humanitarian aid during this crisis. Several North Texas breweries, including Fort Brewery & Pizza, Brutal Beerworks in North Richland Hills, and Celestial Beerworks in Dallas — have participated in similar fundraisers.
