Words by Smiley Team
Ukraine was invaded by Russia on February 24 and, nearly four months later, the fighting is ongoing. Many Ukrainians fled, and life has completely changed for those who stayed.
One such example is the Pravda Brewery, located in downtown Lviv in western Ukraine.
A month into the fighting, the brewery posted its recipes and labels online in a call to support Ukraine. Dubbed Brew for Ukraine, the goal was to urge other breweries around the world to make and sell beer to fund the war effort.
"Proceeds from collaborations with Ukraine brewers, tap takeovers, and events from participating home brewing hobbyists and commercial brewers, will go directly towards aid agencies actively assisting Ukraine refugees displaced by war," said Pravda Brewery.
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That call to action made its way to 26 Degree Brewing Co. in Pompano Beach, Florida.
The brewery, along with two members of the Society of Professional Journalists, went to work creating their own version of one of Pravda’s recipes: an imperial stout that they called the PSB, named for the first initials of three Ukrainian journalists killed in the fighting.
They held an event on May 7 called Beer for Bombs to raise funds for Pravda Brewery and start selling the new beer. All of the proceeds from the event went directly to Pravda who in turn used them to support Ukrainians in need.
According to a Facebook group started for Pravda, more than 500 breweries around the world joined the beer brewing effort.
DONATE: A former brewer at Pravda started a GoFundMe for the brewery to donate money to its war efforts – find out more.
SPREAD AWARENESS: Know a local brewery? Send them the recipes to see if they can brew for Ukraine and get involved.
