By Kathy Brown.
On Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019, from 2:00-8:00 p.m., Steady Habit Brewing Company (95 Bridge Road, Haddam – in Tylerville, behind Tony’s Package Store) will be releasing “Resilience IPA,” which will benefit the Camp Fire Relief Fund. On their Facebook event page, it says, “We’re supporting those impacted by the Camp Fire by brewing Resilience IPA. 100% of the sales will go to Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund to help Butte County rebuild its community.” There will be music provided by Bruce Gregori, from New Haven, from 2:30-5:00 p.m., and Deadicated, from East Haddam, from 5:00-9:00 p.m.
What has come to be known as the Camp Fire, named after Camp Creek Road where the fire began, started in the hills above the Brewery on Nov. 8, 2018. It became the deadliest, most destructive, and most expensive wildfire in California history. It burned over 153,000 acres, killed at least 86 people, and destroyed over 18,000 structures. The total damage was $16.5 billion. It reached 100% containment after 17 days, on Nov. 25, 2018. At the height of deployment, there were over 5,000 firefighters (of which 200 were prisoners), over 600 engines, over 100 bulldozers, and 36 aircraft fighting the fires. 700 National Guard soldiers were activated to assist. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Shortly after the fire, the Sierra Nevada Brewery announced their plans to brew Resilience Butte County Proud IPA and asked every brewery in the country to join them. They asked for suppliers to donate ingredients, asked other breweries to donate their time and labor, and asked retailers to carry the beer for free. They asked, and people responded. More than 1400 breweries from around the country signed up to brew Resilience, and Steady Habits Brewing Company in Tylerville, is one of them.
Jim Venditti, owner of Steady Habit, said, “Our grain supplier, BSG, and our Hop supplier, Michigan Hop Alliance, donated the indigence we needed to produce the beer. Everyone is brewing the same recipe with the exception of the yeast. So, between the different yeasts being used, and the different water profiles, each brewery will have their own ‘stamp’ on the beer.” He went on to say that this would be a limited run. “We are offering the beer in the brewery only until it runs out. We anticipate it will run out sometime in the next week.”
