The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2020 captured the attention of the world. The pictures and videos emerging from Russian aggression are heartbreaking. Excluding Crimea, Ukraine has a population of just over 41 million people. In the first week of the conflict over a million Ukrainians ( mainly women, children, and the elderly) crossed international borders as the fled they horrors. By the end of April, 2022 that number had swelled to over 5.7 million. Most of these went to neighboring Poland. No one knows how many refugees this conflict will ultimately generate.

While looking on in horror, the international community has mobilized in efforts to provide assistance to both those who have fled Ukraine and those who remain. These include the U.S. Government, relief agencies such as the American Red Cross, and churches such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In communities across the United States, individuals and groups are also doing their part to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees. In Portland. OR, The Slavic Community Center of the Northwest held a fundraiser, while Jackson Henning, a 12 year old boy opened a Lemonade Stand in his hometown of Westmont, PA. In addition to these and other fundraising efforts, many craft breweries across the United States have also stepped up and are doing their part to support Ukrainian refugees.

Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, WI was the first American craft brewery to export their beer to Ukraine. Since 2016, Andy Jungwirth, Export Manager at Lakefront, has visited Ukraine on six occasions. During these visits he got to know the folks at Pravda Brewery pretty well. I wrote about Pravda Brewery in my last blog entry. Located in the city of Lviv, Pravda has shifted from brewing beer to producing Molotov Cocktails which are being used against the Russian invaders.

Such was the warmth of the relationship between Jungwirth and Pravda Brewery that Lakefront and Pravda collaborated on brewing a couple of beers, including an India Pale Lager, which they named Lviv-Milwaukee”. Given this close relationship between the two breweries, it is not surprising that news of the Russian invasion sparked a response from the American brewery. Walk into Lakefront today and purchase a 32 ounce crowler and you will find it wrapped in a specially designed blue label emblazoned with a caricature of Vladimir Putin with the words “Putin is a Dick” across his forehead. Funds raised from sale of these crowlers will be deposited with the National Bank of Ukraine, who will use them to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians impacted by the Russian invasion. Lakefront hopes to raise at least $10,000 from the sale of its crowlers.

As noted above, Pravda Brewery has been very hands-on in its efforts to fight back against the Russian military. In addition to producing Molotov Cocktails, the brewery has made available the recipes for five of their beers. The beer recipes have been released as part of the “Brew for Ukraine Crisis Relief Project“. Participating in the project involves brewing at least one of the five beers and making a voluntary contribution to Pravda’s relief fund. Donations to the fund will be directed to the appropriate non-profits operating in Ukraine. The five beers, for which recipes have been made available are Putin Huylo (Dry Hopped Strong Ale), Syla (Belgian Tripel), Red Eyes (American Red Ale), and Frau Ribbentrtop (Belgian Witbier), and From San to Don (Ukrainian Imperial Stout). The beers are being branded as comprising the Victory Series. To date, breweries in Australasia, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America are participating in the initiative and are brewing at least one of these beers.

One aspect of the craft brewing industry that has always impressed me is its collaborative nature, and the willingness of breweries to rally around and step up to support a worthy cause. The Brewing for Ukraine initiative is an excellent example of this. But it is not the first. Other examples abound. in 2018, over 1,400 breweries in the United States participated in the Camp Fire initiative. Organized by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., this effort raised millions of dollars to support those impacted by northern California wildfires. Participating breweries were invited to brew Resilience Butte County Proud IPA. In 2020, Other Half Brewing rallied brewers around the world to raise money for the hospitality industry that had been impacted by COVID-19. They did so by creating a recipe for a beer called All Together IPA. The recipe, as is common in such projects was open source and so was available to all breweries who wanted to participate.

Of course, the Brewing for Ukraine initiative will not change the course of the war in Ukraine. But it will provide vital relief to some Ukrainians who have been impacted the Russian invasion. As individuals, who watch in disgust and horror at the pictures/videos emerging from Ukraine, we can feel helpless. However, there are myriad opportunities to donate some money to help both those who have fled Ukraine and those who remain there. Next time you pop along to your local brewery, you might just find another way in which you can donate.