Great Barrier Beer: Drink a beer, save a reef

We are fans of social causes that benefit our reefs and oceans. We are also fans of a tasty beer. Australia’s Good Beer Company is combining the two in their “Great Barrier Beer: Drink beer. Save The Reef.” campaign that will donate proceeds from sales of the beer to the Australian Marine Conservation Society to benefit preserving the Great Barrier Reef. This is part of Good Beer’s plan to brew 10 beers over 10 years, raising money for 10 different charities.

“Most Australians see the reef as being part of the national identity, and most Australians enjoy beer — we’re teaming the two things up,” said Good Beer founder James Grugeon. “We are a social enterprise and put really simply, that means we exist to raise money for charity. The Australian Marine Conservation Society is the charity partner for Great Barrier Beer, so they will get at least 50% of the profits from it.”

The company is taking a more grass roots approach and connecting local businesses and consumers through events after crowd-funding its first batch in January. So far, this seems to be paying off with over 20 businesses in Airlie Beach stocking the beer. The businesses who will be stocking the beer, ranged from small restaurants and bars to bigger bottle shops and tourism operators.

Australian Marine Conservation Society’s Cherry Muddle helped organize the event, and noted the society’s 50-year legacy of protecting the reef.

“It would be amazing if everybody could get onboard. Even if they don’t drink beer, there is a role for everybody to play in this community,” said Muddle. “These profits will go towards campaigns that we run to raise awareness both locally, nationally and internationally about how beautiful the reef is, but how it is also under threat as well.”

For you beer aficionados, Great Barrier Beer is a session ale (3.5% ABV) that is described as a “crisp, refreshing and easy drinking with a delicate malt flavor balanced by a generous citrus hop aroma of passionfruit and peach.” It has decent reviews so far on Rate Beer, but this definitely isn’t a hearty and hoppy brew for you looking for triple IPAs with enough IBUs to melt your tastebuds off. The lower alcohol content and less hoppy characteristics make it the perfect beer for a nice sunny afternoon at the beach.

Great Barrier Beer is only being distributed in Australia, but the company is working on exporting it to the US as well as New Zealand, Europe, and Asia. The beer is brewed by Queensland craft brewers, Bargara Brewing Company, based in Bundaberg at the foot of the Great Barrier Reef.