Brewing For Beasts

Beer Companies Raise Money for Conservation Organizations.

- Rebecca Heisman

Last October, Pelican Brewing of Pacific City, Ore., launched a new beer with a mission. For every barrel of Five Fin West Coast Pilsner sold, at least two dollars and fifty cents is donated to the Salmon Superhwy initiative, a collaborative effort to restore salmon habitat in the region.

“There are six rivers in Tillamook County and they’re all just beautiful, they’ve got clean, clear, beautiful water, and so we were thinking about a crisp, clean beer,” says Pelican CEO Jim Prinzing. “That just says Pilsner all over it.” The name “Five Fin” comes from the five fish species that stand to benefit.

Pelican had its first foray into conservation in 2012 with its Silverspot IPA—a portion of the profits from that beer supported habitat restoration for the endangered Oregon silverspot butterfly. When that program wound down, Prinzing began looking for a way to stay involved with environmental work, and he soon discovered the Salmon Superhwy.

The project’s list of 93 fish passage barriers (culverts, small dams, etc.) in the Tillamook-Nestucca watershed, when removed, will reopen 95 percent of the region’s historical salmon habitat. “The more we learned about Salmon Superhwy, the more it was apparent that it was a great fit for us,” says Prinzing.

Pelican’s involvement in wildlife causes isn’t unique; across the country, craft breweries are forging partnerships with local conservation organizations in an effort to give back to their communities.