Brewgooder auctions first whisky sour beer for charity

February 2, 2022 | Beer, Food and Drink, Scotland

A collaborative ‘whisky sour’ beer is aiming to become one of the most expensive bottles of beer ever auctioned, with all the proceeds going towards supporting clean water charity projects.

Brewgooder has joined forces with sour beer heroes Vault City and B Corp distillers Bruichladdich to create the whisky sour beer, inspired by the iconic whisky sour cocktail.

All proceeds from the auction will raise funds for charity: water, an organisation which has already unlocked more than 100m litres of clean drinking water in developing countries.

The first four bottles from the project, which were hand sampled and personally labelled and signed by Vault City’s head brewer, will be auctioned by Whisky Auctioneer, the world’s leading online platform for buying and selling whisky and spirits at auction.

The 11% ABV brew has been aged for nine months in Bruichladdich casks prior to bottling. This collaboration also marks the first time that the Classic Laddie casks have left Islay to be used for beer maturation as part of a joint project directly between distillery and brewery.

Alan Mahon, founder of Brewgooder, said: ‘This beer is not only innovative, unique and delicious, it also has the potential at auction to be the most impactful beer ever made for a good cause, producing literally thousands of litres of water for those who need it.

‘The craft and love that went into this beer from Vault City and Bruichladdich is evident from the finished product and we know that this lot will make one lucky beer and whisky enthusiast, and possibly hundreds of other less fortunate people very happy.’

All proceeds will go towards funding thousands of litres of clean water in developing countries via the Brewgooder Foundation and charity: water – an organisation committed to solving the global water crisis in our lifetime. Brewgooder’s Billion Pint Pledge is on track to deliver 150m litres of clean water by the end of 2022. £1,000 has the power to unlock over 500,000 litres of clean water.

Joe Wilson, head curator and spirits specialist at Whisky Auctioneer, said: ‘This is the first time that Bruichladdich casks have been used in a direct partnership with a brewery, making this not only an unprecedented collaboration for the distillery, but an exciting opportunity for Islay whisky fans and beer enthusiasts to support a huge number of people who do not have access to clean and safe water.

‘The four bottles offered at auction have been exclusively selected to create this unique lot. Each bottle is individually numbered and signed by Vault City’s Head Brewer, Ravi Bos, which sets them apart from the rest of the release.

‘It is my hope that we can collectively raise a significant amount of funds which will help those most in need. We have agreed to waive our selling fees and donate the 10% buyer’s commission in addition to the hammer price raised to charity.’

Richard Wardrop, head of marketing at Vault City added: ‘After nine months of barrel-ageing in casks previously used to create the iconic Laddie, Vault City Head Brewer sampled the whisky sour beer from each individual cask, choosing his personal favourite based on flavour profile to create the first four bottles from this unique collaboration.’

The auction will run until February 7 and along with securing these unique bottles of Whisky Sour Beer, the highest bidder will gain exclusive access to the Vault City brewery and taproom as well as a host of other exclusive extras including a tour and tank tasting session led by the company’s co-founder and head brewer. It is hoped that the lot will fetch over £1000.

Visit www.whiskyauctioneer.com for more details.