Known for its sour brews, California Wild Ales is turning to its sweet side by launching a new community-focused giving initiative to donate money to Rady Children’s and other local charities.
The company says the initiative is part of its commitment to supporting local organizations and charities.
Zack Brager, who co-owns California Wild Ales with Bill DeWitt, spoke on the origins of the giving initiative.
“Rady’s and the Extra Life Miracle Network reached out to us,” Brager said. “We were interested in getting involved as we’re always looking to give back. So, we reached back to them and it grew from there.”
The inititiave kicked off May 1 when 10% of all sales at California Wild Ales Barrel House’s brewery and tasting room at 3826 Sherman St., began donating to Rady Children’s and supporting the hospital’s Extra Life Tabletop Program.
The initiative debuts with Rady Children’s Health supporting the hospital’s Extra Life Tabletop Program, a year-around fundraising campaign where gamers, whether board game players or video game players, can raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network.
Rady Children’s Hospital relies on its Children’s Miracle Network partners and programs to help fill funding gaps and fulfill its mission to enhance the health and developmental potential of children through excellence in care, education, research and advocacy.
Since 1983, Children Miracles Network has raised more than $5 billion for children’s hospitals nationwide.
To celebrate it’s fundraising partnership with Rady’s, California Wild Ales will host a series of community events, including two Super Smash Bros. tournaments, with all proceeds benefiting Extra Life.
The first tournament is May 30 at 2 p.m. at the Barrel House with the event featuring a limited field of 24 players along with multiple gameplay stations, including a large-format 20-foot screen, entertainment for both participants and spectators. The second Smash Bros. Tournament is scheduled for June 27.
Brager says California Wild Ales chose to expand their philanthropy a “little bit more,” which is how the initiative ended up being two months long with 10% of all Barrel House sales going directly to charity.
“It just kind of happened organically,” Brager said.
An independent San Diego brewery with deep roots in Ocean Beach, with expanded production now in Midway/Point Loma, California Wild Ales built its reputation initially as a sour beer and wild ales brewery. It now produces a full lineup of beer styles from wild fermentation and barrel-aged saisons to crisp lagers, West Coast IPAs, hazy IPAs, stouts, and small-batch releases.
Brager noted changing tastes — and times — have required California Wild Ales to adjust and expand its lineup of brews. “We have also expanded doing things like making hard seltzers and a lot of other styles of beer as well as those which are non-alcoholic.”
Brager says they hope to use the fundraising to help grow the tasting room as a fundraising resource for the entire community. “Our intent with this Community Giving Initiative is to help grow that location into something that can help support the community.”
Of the status and future of San Diego craft brewing, Brager noted: “After COVID, the industry is settling in and it’s coming back to life. We see a lot of people now coming back to craft brews enjoying our tasting rooms and all the events we’re doing. We are a very collaborative industry and we love lifting each other up. So every brewery that still remains is doing their best to make sure we all can keep San Diego as one of the best beer cities in the United States.”
Super Smash Bros. Tournaments cost $30 to enter and those applications can be found online at https://californiawildales.com/super-smash-bros-tournament-with-rady-childrens-hospital/.
The Sherman St. Barrel House in Midway is open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.
