We think the world of Deschutes Brewery and the fantastic Deschutes crew! You should too. Not only do they craft delicious beers, but they also are active stewards in their Oregon community. Deschutes realized long ago that great beer requires great water, so they began donating generously to their local land and water conservation groups to fund good work in the Deschutes River watershed. But they didn’t stop there. When Deschutes Brewery takes their show on the road to share their delicious beers, they team up with local land and water stewards. That’s where this relationship began! When Deschutes knew that they were coming to Colorado for the 2011 Great American Beer Festival, they contacted us, the Colorado Water Trust, because they had heard about the work we do with water across the state.
Deschutes invited us to attend their annual Fresh Hop Celebration, and Wow, what a hit! CWT was the only entity at the event dispensing information rather than beer. Raising awareness of Colorado water issues in the context of beer was a great avenue for connecting with Coloradoans and great fun at the same time. The lovely and talented Ms. Erica Stock (Colorado Outreach Director for Trout Unlimited) helped CWT raise a number of cash donations and pledged donations, and Deschutes Brewery generously donated proceeds from the event to our cause—to restore and protect streamflows in Colorado. A huge thanks to everyone who helped make this event a success!