A new craft beer company raising funds on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo in the lead up to Christmas & New Years is set to shake up Australia & New Zealand’s beer industry by brewing beers that help support worthy causes has this week expanded its reach to ship to New Zealand.

And, if the venture takes off Kiwi & Aussie beer lovers & pub-goers could be drinking “Great Barrier Beers” within months.

Founder of the social enterprise “The Good Beer Co.”, James Grugeon, says he was trying to identify ways to make it easy for Kiwis & Aussies with a social conscience to support worthy causes when he thought of the “good beer” movement that has seen great success in the US and UK.

“Kiwis & Australians are some of the most beer-loving nations on earth. Yet our beer-drinking dollars go largely to for-profit, multinational companies,” Mr Grugeon said.

‘We want to give every beer-drinking person with a conscience the opportunity to raise money for a great cause simply by raising a glass. We call it drinking socially responsibly!’

The Good Beer Co.’s first drop, the Great Barrier Beer, has raised over $15,000AUD in 20 days and opened up the ability for Kiwis to get behind the movement this week, in an effort to offer their Trans-Tasman and equally socially conscious friends a chance to get involved in the movement early with at least 50 per cent of the profits of the first project going to the Australian Marine Conservation Society to help them protect the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef,  located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia.

People who back the project become a founding member in an Australian beer company that gives back and ‘saves the world doing what you quite possibly do anyway, buying and drinking one Good Beer at a time.’

 

They also get the opportunity to be the first to enjoy its easy drinking craft beers, and have a say in future beer recipes, labels and causes.

Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) CEO, Darren Kindleysides, said the organisation was thrilled to be a founding partner and the first charity beneficiary of The Good Beer Co.

“It’s such a refreshingly innovative way to raise much-needed awareness and funds for the protection of our Reef,” Mr Kindleysides said.

“Our iconic Great Barrier Reef is at a tipping point, having lost about half of its coral cover in the past 30 years. Unless we take action now to protect it, the outlook for this natural wonder of the world looks bleak.

The Good Beer Co. has also partnered with the Bargara Brewing Company, a microbrewery in Bundaberg, Queensland to produce Great Barrier Beer because of the craft brewery’s commitment to helping protect the environment, its local community and local suppliers.

For future projects, The Good Beer Co. is seeking to work with craft brewers and microbreweries and charitable causes in other areas of Ausrtralia and New Zealand.

Each beer released will be inspired by and fund a chosen charity partner, who will be selected democratically by its supporters.

See the crowdfunding page here.

Also see the company’s website at https://www.thegoodbeerco.com.au/ and social channels:

 

• https://www.facebook.com/goodbeerau/
• https://twitter.com/goodbeerau
• https://www.instagram.com/goodbeerau/

 

>ENDS<

Media interested in arranging an interview or photos should contact Yvette Adams on +61 405 022 977 or pr@www.thecreativecollective.com.au.

EDITORS NOTES

About The Good Beer Co.

The Good Beer Co. is Australia’s first social enterprise beer company. Its mission is simple: Good Beer that does good. Partnering with enviro-savvy microbreweries from around Australia, The Good Beer Co. brews quality craft beers inspired by a chosen charity partner, to whom at least 50% of profits will be donated. So when Australians choose to drink Good Beer, they do good too.

The Good Beer Co. is a democratic beer company that aims to grow a movement for Good Beer. It leverages relationships with some of Australia’s best craft brewing companies, beerpreneurs and the general public too. In the true spirit of democracy, prior to the launch of every Good Beer, supporters – part of the Good Beer movement, will be invited to taste test, select the label design and vote on which charities to support.

About Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS)

The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) is an independent national charity, staffed by a committed group of professional and passionate scientists, educators and advocates who have defended Australia’s oceans for over 50 years.

The charity has a proud history of saving our seas, and lead campaigns to save the Great Barrier Reef and protect it as a World Heritage marine park. They work each day to tackle pollution of our oceans and protect our marine life and habitats, so that our Great Barrier Reef and big blue ocean is in good shape for tomorrow’s generations.

About Bargara Brewing Company

Bargara Brewing Company was founded in 2014 by six friends in the little coastal Queensland town of Bargara. Its owners and brewers are committed to using the best ingredients to produce the best beers, and take an environmentally responsible approach to brewing.

The Bargara Brewing Company experienced rapid growth and success in 2015, characterised by the opening of its brewery in Bundaberg and the expansion of its product range and availability through Queensland stockists. The company was the biggest selling independent craft brewery at the 2015 Noosa Craft Beer Festival.