Pennsauken, NJ -- Four local breweries have come together to brew a collaboration beer with proceeds going to charitable organizations. Double Nickel Brewing Company of Pennsauken, NJ is launching a new annual initiative, teaming up with Cape May Brewing Company (Cape May, NJ), Tonewood Brewing Company (Oaklyn, NJ), and Urban Village Brewing Company (Philadelphia, PA) for an inaugural charity brew, a “Pot-Luck Style IPA” called “Friends Giving”, releasing November 8th.
The Friends Giving Initiative has the goal of supporting local charities that work toward feeding food-insecure families throughout the South Jersey and Philadelphia region. Borne from a brainstorming meeting at Double Nickel, the idea quickly grew from a casual beer name suggestion into what is now planned to be an annual charity initiative.
“We came up with the idea while working on names for our November limited beer release,” says John Dalsey, Marketing Director at Double Nickel. “Some pretty unexciting names were thrown around, but, when someone said ‘Friends Giving’, the thought came up that it could be a cool name for a collaboration between multiple breweries rather than what has more traditionally been between just two breweries. As we talked about it some more the ‘Giving’ piece naturally fell into place as the suggestion of doing it as a charity fundraiser was brought to the table. From there it has just ballooned into a much bigger concept that we’re all incredibly excited about.”
When approached with the proposed plan, Cape May, Tonewood, and Urban Village were quick to join the cause. From there, other suppliers and vendors with whom the breweries regularly deal were contacted about helping to maximize the efforts. Most were willing to assist with varying donations of ingredients, packaging supplies, discounted services, and the like.
“The most gratifying aspect of this initiative is that our suppliers jumped on board,” says Chris Henke of Cape May Brewing Company. “A collaboration between four breweries easily became an alliance of thirteen companies with local ties attempting to raise as much money as possible. It’s a testament to what we can achieve in our industry when we work together, think positively, and work toward a common goal.”
Brewed on October 4th, the brew is being called a “Pot Luck IPA” -- a term coined during a planning session. Each brewery involved brought an undisclosed variety of hops to the brew day, which included Nelson Sauvin, Apollo, Mosaic, Idaho 7, and Amarillo.
There are a number of events planned to celebrate the launch of this highly-anticipated beer. The initial 16-ounce can and draft release will be held on November 8th at the tasting room of Double Nickel Brewing Co. A special Friends Giving launch party will be held at The Taproom & Grill in Haddon Township on Saturday, November 10, 2018. An additional Philadelphia event will be held at Urban Village Brewing Company on Thursday, November 15th. Each event will feature representatives from all four breweries and will include giveaways, raffles, and the opportunity to purchase limited-release merchandise.
Following the November 8th release of the special collaboration brew, Friends Giving will be available on draft and in 16-ounce cans at retailers, bars, and restaurants throughout the New Jersey and the Philadelphia area.
The proceeds from Friends Giving will be donated to three local charities: Cathedral Kitchen and Sacred Heart Church, both of Camden, NJ, as well as Philabundance of Philadelphia. Each organization was chosen for their mission to feed struggling families throughout the area each of the breweries calls home. The initiative is expected to raise a total of $30,000 for these charities, with hopes to exceed that number at the end of the program.
The mission statement for the newly formed initiative is as follows:
“Friends Giving is our way of turning a little creativity, camaraderie, community, and collaboration into support for feeding families struggling to put food on the table.”
The Breweries:
Double Nickel Brewing Company - Pennsauken, NJ
Cape May Brewing Company - Cape May, NJ
Tonewood Brewing Company - Oaklyn, NJ
Urban Village Brewing Company - Philadelphia, PA
The Beer:
“Pot Luck Style IPA” - Double Dry Hopped Hazy IPA: 7% ABV; 15 IBU
Malt Bill:
-Pilsner
-Wheat (Locally sourced: Rabbit Hill Farm)
-Rye (Locally sourced: Rabbit Hill Farm)
-Oat
Hop Bill:
-Nelson Sauvin
-Apollo
-Mosaic
-Idaho 7
-Amarillo
Charitable Organizations:
Cathedral Kitchen - Camden, NJ
Sacred Heart Church - Camden, NJ
Philabundance - Philadelphia, PA
Contributing Partners:
Mid-Atlantic Packaging Inc - Boxes
Rabbit Hill Farms - Wheat and Rye
Country Malt Group - Malt
Zuckerman Honickman - Cans
Can Source - Can Shrink Sleeves
Paktech - 4-pack Can Carriers
Modtek - Labels
Ritchie and Page Distributing Company- Distributor
Kramer Beverage Company- Distributor
Related Events:
Friends Giving Brewery Launch/Release - November 8, 2018
Double Nickel Brewing Company
1585 Rt. 73
Pennsauken, NJ 08110
Friends Giving Party 1 - November 10, 2018
Taproom & Grill
427 W. Crystal Lake Avenue
Haddonfield, NJ 08033
Friends Giving Party 2 - November 15, 2018
Urban Village Brewing Company
1001 N. 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
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ABOUT DOUBLE NICKEL:
Double Nickel is a South Jersey based brewery creating traditional and emerging style beers, drawing inspiration from the past but adding our own modern twist. Since opening our doors in October 2015, Double Nickel has quickly become a local favorite with its award-winning, year round and special release beers and tasting room. Learn more about Double Nickel by visiting us on our website at www.DNBCBeer.com
UPDATE 21 Dec 2018:
Last month, four local breweries came together to brew a collaboration beer and help ease food insecurity in our area. Double Nickel Brewing Company of Pennsauken, NJ launched a new annual initiative and teamed up with Cape May Brewing Company (Cape May, NJ), Tonewood Brewing Company (Oaklyn, NJ), and Urban Village Brewing Company (Philadelphia, PA) for their inaugural charity brew, a “potluck-style IPA” called “Friends Giving”.
The Friends Giving Initiative is pleased to announce that they’ve raised a total of $75,326 to assist area families in need.
“Friends Giving is our way of turning a little creativity, camaraderie, community, and collaboration into support for families struggling to put food on the table,” says Drew Perry, Head Brewer at Double Nickel.
The initiative supports local charities focused on helping food-insecure families throughout the South Jersey and Philadelphia region. In the weeks before Thanksgiving, the collaboration beer hit shelves throughout New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia area, raising an initial total of $40,856.
“It’s exciting to find ways to give back,” says Dave Goldman, Head Brewer at Urban Village Brewery. “Beer doesn’t typically help people who are struggling, so when you can use your craft to help people who are, it feels really great to have that opportunity.”
“We were extraordinarily gratified to see so many of our suppliers donate ingredients, aluminum cans, and labels to the initiative,” says Chris Henke, co-owner of Cape May Brewing Company. “In the end, nearly all of the supplies needed to create this beer were donated in some form or another.”
Once the initiative was underway, Dietz and Watson of Philadelphia, PA, made a substantial donation to the cause, bringing the total to $75,326. Through the donation of much-needed high-protein foods such as chickens and turkeys, the Friends Giving Initiative is able to help this year’s beneficiaries -- Cathedral Kitchen and Sacred Heart of Camden and Philabundance of Philadelphia -- achieve their missions.
“In discussions with Cathedral Kitchen and Philabundance, we learned that they both were in need of high-protein foods, such as chicken and turkey,” says John Dalsey, Marketing Director at Double Nickel. “A large part of their mission is fulfilled through food education programs, teaching people how to prepare nutritious meals at home.”
These programs are typically made more difficult as the bulk of donated items are shelf-stable, packaged foods such as canned tuna and peanut butter.
“By partnering with Dietz and Watson, this donation will have a much bigger and more meaningful impact while feeding more families in our local communities,” Dalsey said.
“The Dietz and Watson donation allows us to send our guests home with food for themselves and their families,” says Noreen Flewelling, Director of Development at Cathedral Kitchen, “which is important because people can't always make every meal service. We look forward to working with Double Nickel and their fundraising initiatives in the future as we continue on our mission of using food to change lives."
Through the initiative, Friends Giving was able to purchase Cathedral Kitchen a much-needed commercial dishwasher, greatly impacting their daily operations and assisting them as they work toward their annual goal of providing 125,000 meals to the food insecure.
"The donation from Friends Giving is special because it is helping us with broadening our impact,” says Flewelling. “The dishwasher is something that we've really needed for awhile. It is a crucial piece of equipment that we will be using everyday to maintain a food-safe environment as we continue to feed the Camden community, serving 125,000 meals annually.”
Inspired by the success and delighted by the support for their Friends Giving Initiative, Double Nickel has decided to create a charity called “Collabor-AID” to carry on the mission they began of turning creativity, camaraderie, community and collaboration into support for feeding local food-insecure families.
“Thanks to the tremendous support of our fans, an initiative that began its life as a fun name for a beer has developed into something much bigger than we could have ever hoped,” says Dalsey. “We received overwhelming interest in our mission of fighting food insecurity from other breweries, businesses, and charities. Creating Collabor-AID is our way of bringing that support and interest together, channeling that energy into support for our mission.”
Double Nickel is currently working on the next event for Collabor-AID which will take place mid-April. More information on future events can be found on Double Nickel’s Facebook page and website.
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Photo caption: The start of a great relationship, members of the Friends Giving Initiative present Cathedral Kitchen with a $20,854 donation to support their mission of helping the food insecure.
Pictured Left to Right: Chris Henke of Cape May Brewing Co.; Jonathan Jernigan of Cathedral Kitchen; Carrie Kitchen-Santiago of Cathedral Kitchen; John Dalsey of Double Nickel Brewery; Drew Perry of Double Nickel Brewery; Noreen Flewelling of Cathedral Kitchen; Brian Needham of Double Nickel Brewery.
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