featuring…
♫ Carolyn Wonderland, Peace Meal
🍺 Try The Faith Solidarity Pale Ale
Words & photos: Vincent Abbate
Not until very recently, only in the past couple of weeks actually, did I realize that there is an international beer community. You often feel a communal spirit in musical circles, as I’ve touched on recently. That there are dedicated beer drinkers all over the world goes without saying. But that brewers will pull together like a family in times of crisis – this is news to me.
If you’ve not stumbled across it on social media: There is a movement going on called #BrewForUkraine. It arose swiftly in the days after Russian forces invaded their neighbors to the west, spearheaded by the Pravda Brewery, an award-winning craft brewer in the Ukrainian city of Lviv. The company first made news when it converted its beer-making operations to the production of Molotov cocktails for local residents. The primitive weapons, they hoped, would help “kick the cockroaches out of our land.”
As Lviv has seen countless thousands pass through on their way out of the country, the brewery’s concern quickly turned to relief efforts. Pravda put out an open call to brewers worldwide to create special Brew For Ukraine beers and donate proceeds to appropriate aid organizations. Dozens have responded in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zeeland and North and South America.
The small grei.beer brewery in southwestern Germany has joined those ranks and is now brewing its Try The Faith Solidarity Pale Ale for the cause. It’s a keeper.
Several weeks ago, before this whole mess started, I had planned to mark International Womens Day by spotlighting one of Austin’s finest, Carolyn Wonderland and her 2011 release Peace Meal. Better late than never.
