Phillips Brewing Program Aids Mountain Road Forest Campaign in Saanich
VICTORIA – Will drinking beer help the environment?
Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. believes so, and is putting its money where its mouth is, by expanding its “Benefit Brew Goes Green” campaign.
Started in 2019, the program saw groups in BC and Alberta receiving the full proceeds of a special beer created by Phillips – up to $10,000 each. Their announcement of the BC winner, the Mountain Road Forest Campaign, coincides with Earth Day on April 22.
Matt Phillips is the founder of Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.
It’s the latest initiative by the company that Matt Phillips, then a 27-year-old brewer, founded in 2001. Besides beer, the 2010 Government Street company includes Phillips Soda Works, featuring Spitfire Ginger Ale, Captain Electro’s Root Beer, Speed King Craft Cola and Dare Devil Orange Cream, and the Phillips Fermentorium Distilling Co., which makes Stump Gin. They also have an online brew shop called Ales by Mail.
The Mountain Road Forest contribution comes alongside a major push by the Habitat Acquisition Trust (HAT) to raise $1.4 million to preserve a 49 acre urban forest property in Saanich.
Phillips explained in a press release that a local family has owned this forested property for nearly 50 years. Recognizing the ecological and community values of the property, the family has been pursuing a permanent conservation option for this urban forest for many years. The Capital Regional District, HAT and the family have entered into an agreement to sell the property at 4692 Mountain Road near Prospect Lake so that it can be permanently designated an urban forest park as part of the CRD park system.
“The family’s patriarch was an ardent conservationist who believed in the importance of setting habitat aside and protecting it from development and destruction,” it states. “With only three owners since 1883, this property has been gently used over the decades. For the past 50 years, the current owners have allowed the community to access this property for the enjoyment of nature. Wide community support for the protection of these woods became evident with more than 800 donors stepping up to contribute to the fundraising campaign so far.”
The HAT push has a sense of urgency to it, since the property is also an active real estate listing, as developers have expressed interest in purchasing the property should fundraising efforts fall short. The goal is to raise the last $800,000 by Earth Day to complete the purchase and protect the property permanently.
“That’s why we’re pledging the full proceeds ($10,000) from the 2021 BC Benefit Brew now and hoping all of our nature and craft brewing friends out there might be able to join us in this important and time sensitive campaign,” the company states, adding that 75 per cent of the funding has been secured thus far.
Celebrities like Neil Young and Daryl Hannah have thrown their support behind the campaign as well.
The Mountain Road Forest campaign will give “wildlife and locals the chance to enjoy this spectacular environment for many generations to come,” Phillips states.
