GARDEN CITY, Idaho — The coronavirus pandemic has changed life for us all, but some things remain. People still want a good beer and it's even better when that good beer is for a good cause.
Western Collective is a brewery member of the trade group Idaho Brewers United, which represents the state's beer makers. Idaho Brewers United partnered with Western Collective to create a common goal, as in Common Goal beer, a name given to the drink created by Western Collective.
"The whole reason we made this beer is because of COVID as a response directly to not being able to fundraise through beer festivals and doing other things for the guild," said Cary Prewitt, owner of Western Collective.
The guild supports brewers around the state through education or changes in legislation and all the money raised through Common Goal goes directly to IBU. The money in turn helps out all breweries, but especially smaller start-ups. The beer is described as fruity, not bitter and clean and crisp.
"It's a good tasty IPA made with a lot of Idaho ingredients, which we like," said Sheila Francis, executive director of Idaho Brewers United.
Idaho's beer-making community is pretty close-knit, what is good for one is good for all.
"We all have the same goal, all the brewers may be in competition in a way," said Francis. "They're all in it together, they like to work together and this is one example of that."
And this first taste of a partnership may not be the last.
"This is the first beer brewed specifically for the guild," said Prewitt. "We worked with breweries around the state to come up with a recipe and had all the ingredients donated to us, which was awesome and all are Idaho sourced as well."
You can find Common Goal at Albertsons and Whole Foods. The beer is also available to-go at Western Collective on 33rd Street in Garden City and at both Boise Co-op locations and Brewers Heaven.
