Wiley Roots Brewing Raises $5,500 for COVID-19
(GREELEY, CO) – Wiley Roots Brewing Company announced today that the brewery raised $5,500 last month, with the release of Howl at the Moon Together, to fight COVID-19 in Greeley, Colorado.
On May 1, 2020, Wiley Roots released Howl at the Moon Together, a blood orange hard seltzer in 16oz four-packs, to raise money to supply local organizations with needed sanitizer and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including gloves and masks. By partnering with Innovative Labeling Solutions, Source of Nature, Propagate Lab, and the distribution arm of WeldWerks Brewing Company, Wiley Roots was able reduce the cost of production, allowing the brewery to raise as much money as possible from the sale of the hard seltzer.
Howl at the Moon Together is a refreshing 4.5% ABV Hard Seltzer made with whole fruit Blood Orange purée. It was named for the collective 8pm howl that can be heard across Colorado, that pays tribute to essential and frontline workers.
In April, Kyle Carbaugh, Head Brewer and Co-Founder of Wiley Roots, said he wanted to help, but didn’t know how. That’s when the 8pm nightly howl inspired him to do something, by creating a blood orange seltzer to raise money. The brewery chose to brew a seltzer because of the shorter turn-around time to produce. Wiley Roots released cans online with pick-up from their newly created drive-thru on May 1, 2020. Miranda Carbaugh, Director of Sales and Co-Founder of Wiley Roots, indicated that Howl at the Moon Together was also distributed to select liquor stores across the Front Range and Colorado Springs and that the seltzer was an instant hit, quickly selling out at the brewery and selling out in less than a day at several liquor stores.
“We are so happy that we received such an incredibly enthusiastic response from our wholesale accounts, we were truly overwhelmed by the support. Many of our accounts sold out of their order for Howl At The Moon Together within 24 hours, which means our fans really got behind this project as a whole. That’s an incredible feeling to see people rally around our community from across the state.” Miranda Carbaugh said.
All of the money raised was donated to the WeldWerks Community Foundation to help subsidize the costs of producing sanitizer and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including gloves and masks, for local organizations in Greeley, Colorado. WeldWerks Community Foundation board of directors initially approved a budget of $10,000 to help fund production and donation efforts, but those funds were completely depleted at the start of the seltzer project. By contributing an additional $5,500, Wiley Roots was able to contribute resources to the efforts, as the initial supplies were donated to frontline workers and community organizations.
“Weld Co is in desperate need of PPE efforts to protect our community,” said Neil Fisher, Head Brewer and Co-Founder of WeldWerks, “And while we don’t have the bandwidth to become a fulltime PPE company, as long as we have a way to help, we will.”
By working together with friends, vendors, partners, and neighbors, Wiley Roots was able to quickly create a product that was able to raise a significant amount of money toward a collective effort in the fight against COVID-19. Greeley, Colorado is nationally known as the location of the best breweries in the country and this project is another example of those breweries working together to support their community.
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About Wiley Roots Brewing Company
Wiley Roots Brewing Company believes beer should be unique, crafted from the highest quality ingredients, and brewed with a sense of responsibility to the craft and to the surrounding community. We believe that brewing craft beer is an art and that it should be grounded in the core values of honesty, integrity, hard work, and the belief in one’s ability to create and share. We are a small, independently owned brewery with a unique focus on mixed-culture, barrel aged, and spontaneous beers in downtown Greeley, Colorado. Our beers have been awarded medals at the Great American Beer Festival in 2018 (Silver), 2017 (Gold), 2015 (Gold), 2013 (Bronze), and 2017 (Silver) at the Mazer Cup International. Wiley Roots Brewing Company was founded by Kyle Carbaugh and Miranda Carbaugh and opened in the summer of 2013.
