The Best Breweries and Businesses to Celebrate during Untappd’s 12 Days of Giving
Beer has the power to change lives.
In the past few years, we've seen that beer can be a platform to address serious issues, like racial inequality, equity and inclusion, ALS, and gun violence.
We believe in the power of beer and the awesomeness of our community. Starting Monday, Dec. 13th, Untappd will celebrate this unique part of our culture with 12 Days of Giving, a campaign designed to highlight people, breweries, and brands who have used beer to make the world a better place.
Some days, we'll offer giveaways. Others, we'll just tell a story. Stay tuned to the Untappd Instagram (@untappd) each day to hear about another incredible initiative – and definitely let us know about those in your community that are making a difference!
Presenting Untappd's 12 Days of Giving:
Monday, Dec. 13th
Long Live Beerworks - Providing Excellent Hospitality
To say Long Live Beerworks cares about providing the best experience possible is an understatement. At Long Live, providing excellent hospitality goes beyond just brewing fantastic beer.
As the company's values statement says, "As we grow our brand, we are equally sensitive to remain connected to our roots, and always focusing back on where we operate and how we serve the community we brew in."
If you've ever visited the taproom, you'll understand that ethos. The brewery strives toward excellence, stays open-minded to new operating procedures, and always pushes the envelope on hospitality.
Tuesday, Dec. 14th
The Alchemist - Water Sustainability
The Alchemist Founders Jen and John Kimmich are driving one of the most robust brewery sustainability programs in the country.
As a core pillar of the brewery, sustainable practices and ethos abound at The Alchemist, where the Kimmich's have built their own wastewater treatment facility.
We also want to call out Jen's work, which earned her the Terry Ehrich Lifetime Achievement Award from Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) for honoring her commitment to the environment, workplace and community in 2018.
Sure, The Alchemist makes fantastic beer (ever heard of Heady Topper??), but it's Jen and John's commitment to protecting our planet that earns them a spot in this campaign.
Wednesday, Dec. 15th
TRU Colors Brewery - Company Culture
Started by Untappd partner George Taylor, TRU Colors launched as a for-profit brewery with a close-knit social mission to unite gang rivals and decrease violence in Wilmington, North Carolina. What's unique about this brewery is that they hire the majority of their staff from rival gangs… meaning members from the Bloods, Crips, GD, and BD work side by side to brew beer and cultivate community.
Over the last five years, TRU Colors has accomplished much through its people-focused, purpose-driven, and profit-aligned mission. The Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA) recently announced a 51.2 percent reduction in the crime rate that includes murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson, and credits this reduction in part to partnerships between the WHA, local law enforcement, and community participation.
Thursday, Dec. 16th
Leashless Brewing - Sustainable Brewing Practices / Organic Certification
This Southern California brewery is revolutionizing organic craft beer. The positive impact of organic craft beer on our planet has slowly been turning heads since the early 2000s. Imagine that you can reduce your water and carbon waste just by drinking one of Leashless' beers, essentially improving the planet with just one glass of beer. Wouldn't you want to try one? Don't worry, Leashless Founder John Gonzales has done all the hard work for you. And yes, it is very hard work to become a certified organic brewery. It's Gonzales' unique and rigorous journey to open Leashless, along with his one hundred percent commitment to protecting the environment through his own brewery, that we want to highlight during our 12 Days of Giving.
Friday, Dec. 17th
Yard House - Combatting Food Scarcity
Did you know that all 84 Yard House locations across the United States participate in a partnership with Food Donation Connection to help fight hunger in their local communities? Each day, team members collect wholesome, surplus food and prepare it for weekly donation to food banks and other nonprofit partners. By harvesting excess nutritious food like pasta, steak, chicken, vegetables and soup, their restaurants provide an immediate impact in their communities. With their participation in Darden Harvest, they have helped donate more than 91 million pounds of surplus food to families in need since 2003.
Saturday, Dec. 18th
WestRock - Packaging
One of the most innovative packaging companies in the industry, WestRock's mission is to "bring meaningful beverage packaging innovations to market." And fast! WestRock works with breweries and brands to provide an unbeatable portfolio of paper and packaging products including custom corrugated trays and the famous "CanCollar," which is used by over 100 customers to reduce their carbon footprint and provide a safer alternative to plastic can collars.
Sunday, Dec. 19th
CLS Farms and Yakima Valley Hops - Impactful Initiative
The fifth-generation family farm CLS Farms and the major hop business Yakima Valley Hops just kicked off a yearly campaign called One in Eight that raises money for breast cancer through hop sales and brewing beer. One in eight is the number of women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer. This year, CLS Farms donated an exclusive lot of Idaho Gem to the campaign with Yakima Valley Hops selling the pellets on their website to both homebrewers and commercial brewers. Last year, the two Yakima Valley companies raised nearly $25,000 for Wellness House of Yakima.
Monday, Dec. 20th
Queer Brewing Project - Community Impact
The Queer Brewing Project was founded by Lily Waite -- a queer, trans woman -- as a way to build community and foster advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights. How? Waite, who has worked for Good Beer Hunting, We Are Beer, and Wild Beer Co., traveled around the world brewing specific queer-focused collaboration beers with well-known breweries. Beginning with Marble Brewery's Dinosaurs Will Die, a beer brewed as part of an art exhibition during Manchester Beer Week in 2018, Waite crafted over thirty collaborative beers in five different countries. With each collaboration, Waite revealed more about the intersectionality of the queer and trans communities in craft. Plus, the project raised thousands of pounds for organizations supporting and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights 🏳️🌈
Tuesday, Dec. 21st
Half Time Beverage - Supporting Small Businesses
As an "essential business," Half Time remained open throughout the height of COVID, braving the pandemic and taking precautions to ensure everyone still had access to great beer and cider. If you don't know, Half Time is the ultimate virtual bottleshop. As one of the most trusted sources for online beer ordering, Half Time offers one of the largest selections of beer and cider around. They've even won a few awards for their amazing selection, including Best Bottle Shop in New York and Top 3 Beer Store in the World according to Ratebeer.com. Our friends at Hop Culture consider them an essential place to buy beer online.
During the global pandemic, this intrepid bottle shop in Upstate New York started buying direct from certain local breweries.Their ability to ship to 30+ states provided breweries an outlet for sales during those difficult times.
Wednesday, Dec. 22nd
Weathered Souls Brewing Company - Black is Beautiful
In 2020, Weathered Souls Founder Marcus Baskerville started the internationally acclaimed Black is Beautiful Project, a collaborative brewing project aimed at raising awareness about injustices that many people of color face every day. In the last year, the 1,300 participating breweries and allied trade participants (representing all fifty states and twenty-two countries) raised more than $3M for 501c3 organizations. You can expect even more big initiatives from this revolutionary brewer next year when Weathered Souls opens a new location in Charlotte, NC.
Thursday, Dec. 23rd
Double Nickel Brewing Company - Food Justice / Security
Every year around Thanksgiving, Double Nickel brews Friends Giving, a collaboration with a handful of New Jersey- and Pennsylvania-based breweries to raise money for local food banks and nonprofit organizations dedicated to fighting food insecurity. In just the first three years of the project, they've already raised and donated over $315,000 in much-needed funding and food donations. We're thrilled that our friends at Double Nickel have spearheaded this campaign and believe that more organizations should follow their example!
Friday, Dec. 24th
Foam Brewers - Amplifying Artists
Every four months the team at Foam Brewers pores over art submissions, choosing one to become the new face of their series called Canvas.
Most recently, Monroe Cromis (@monroepaints) won the 2021 Summer Canvas Contest. According to an Instagram post from Foam, "Monroe Cromis is from Bristol, VT where she started drawing in her Mom's back seat. She has been creating ever since, determined to offer an additional lens to see the world, through color and shape."⠀
Hop Culture recently named this illustration one of the best labels of 2021 because it almost perfectly encapsulates how Foam is amplifying artists through its beer.