How You Can Help: #DrinkersForUkraine

Brussels-based Eoghan Walsh and Switzerland-based Ukrainian Lana Svitankova have spearheaded a new effort to provide some support for those suffering the illegal Russian invasion: Drinkers for Ukraine. They are encouraging people connected to beer to contribute to the Red Cross Humanitarian Relief fund. You can donate now. To help spread the word about this effort, they’ve included three beer-specific components. First, folks are conducting an online auction for cool stuff, with all the proceeds going to the Red Cross. Second, they’re encouraging brewers to make a “Solidarity Brew,” which will both raise awareness for the effort as well as directing funds to the Red Cross. Finally, on March 26, organizers are hosting a fundraising livestream that will include, among other things, interviews and videos from brewers and people from the beer community in Ukraine.

There’s more below, including the first of a series of auctions I’ll be offering. But first, here’s a note from Lana about the project.

“Help me sharing this far and wide, friends; help my people. Auctioning, brewing Solidarity Beer, joining fundraising livestream, whatever your choice is. Be involved. And thank you, I would never be able to thank you enough, you wonderful lot.

“And if you have access to big beer communities, please let them know about this too. Right now we are inviting breweries all around the world to participate, but we also need bidders for auctioning items/experiences. I would massively appreciate any contribution, be it spreading the word or joining the cause.”

Auction

Folks are invited to auction items or experiences. A few examples: John Holl and Augie Carton offered a package deal including an appearance on Steal this Beer; Lars Marius Garshol is auctioning his books; and Eoghan is doing Brussels walking tours. Look for announcements on your favorite social media platform. (But beware that Twitter and Facebook have been giving the project some grief.)

The way it works is simple. When you see an item, place a bid on it, and when the auction expires, the winner makes a donation in that amount to the Red Cross. Then the winner sends a receipt of the donation to the person auctioning the item, and they’ll ship the item to you. Simple! To help the effort, I’m going to be auctioning some of my stuff, and you can make bids here at the blog. I’ve got signed books, a rare bottle of beer or two, and possibly some other stuff I can locate in the basement. Let’s kick things off with a signed hardcover of the new Beer Bible. Remember, make your bid in comments here on the blog. (If I see bids on social, I’ll post them below.)

Solidarity Brew - Beetroot Stout

Similar to Sierra Nevada’s Resilience, Black is Beautiful, and Brave Noise, Solidarity Brew is a way for brewers to support the effort. Organizers have created the recipe for an imperial stout, but they’re not fussy about breweries following it identically. The cool thing is it has a very Ukrainian element—beets. For anyone packaging it, I suspect a sunflower would look mighty good on the can. You can find the recipe, along with more information here. I’d love to see Oregon breweries turn out in force for this!

Rise for Refugees

Finally, this just in. For Portland folks, here’s another great opportunity from Threshold Brewing:

With our own Polish and Ukrainian family and friends overseas, we've been working to come up with a meaningful way to support them. Together with some individuals from Portland's Polish and Ukrainian community, we will be hosting a fundraiser on Wednesday, March 16th at Threshold with proceeds supporting the Union of Ukrainians organization and the families and refugees currently sheltering in the Polish border city of Suwałki. Proceeds from the evening will support the Union of Ukrainians organization and the families and refugees currently sheltering in Suwałki.

There’s a lot more information about the event here. You can also donate directly here. I’m planning to go.