Launched on March 3, one week after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, a new campaign aims to use various means—including an open-source collaboration beer—to raise money for the Red Cross humanitarian relief effort there.
The #DrinkersforUkraine campaign is the cooperative effort of several people who work in brewing and write about it, led by Lana Svitankova, Ukraine’s first certified Cicerone and a spokesperson for the Varvar brewery in Kiev. The organizers also include the team at British beer magazine Ferment and Eoghan Walsh, a Brussels-based beer writer.
The campaign is multifaceted, with three ways to raise funds:
- an online auction of anything-goes donated items, such as brewery merch, rare beers, and unique services or experience
- a livestreamed fundraising show that will feature the stories of brewers in Ukraine
- a solidarity collaboration brew called Resist, a “Ukrainian anti-imperial stout”