Food Drink

‘Sparkke’ Some Joy In Essential Workers By Shouting Them Beer

Adelaide’s Sparkke Beverage Company has teamed up with The Good Beer Co. and six other independent brewers from across the country for this great initiative.

Author: Madison Hurst

If you’ve been paying attention to the news recently, you’ve probably heard of initiatives like Feed the Frontline. But did you know that you can thank essential workers by shouting them a four pack of beer?

Well, Adelaide’s Sparkke Beverage Company has teamed up with The Good Beer Co. and six other independent brewers from across the country to do just that.

It’s all part of the newly launched ‘A Good Beer Always Helps’ campaign, which is encouraging Australians to give back to essential workers during the Covid-19 pandemic in a charming and quintessentially Australian fashion; by shouting them a four pack of beer.

“The good people working in our essential services have always been there for us, and right now they are the ones who are keeping our country going. ‘A Good Beer Always Helps’ is all about showing them how much we appreciate them” says founder of The Good Beer Co, James Grugeon, “and what better way than by shouting them a four pack of craft beer.”

The fundraiser will feature beers from six of Australia’s finest independent breweries, including Adelaide locals, Sparkke, who are generously providing four packs for each of the South Australian essential workers who have registered to be on the receiving end of the campaign.

So far, Sparkke has helped get beers into the hands of over 1,195 essential workers across Australia but is aiming to extend this target to reach a further 9,000 employees over the next month with the help of the six other participating breweries. According to Sparkke’s co-founder Kari Allen, the campaign was one they were keen to get involved in.

“Sparkke is a for purpose beer company, so when James approached us and asked us if we would like to be involved, we jumped at the chance,” says Allen. “To be able to say thank you in a tangible way to health workers is really important right now. Yes, we’re doing it tough at the moment, but being a part of an effort to express our gratitude to the people keeping us safe is really good for our morale.”

To fund the operation, donations of $20 or more are being accepted via The Good Beer Company’s Pozible webpage until the end of May, which will be used to cover the overhead costs of brewing, canning, packaging and posting four packs to the homes of essential workers.

Although the budget is wearing thin for many Australians at the moment, Grugeon hopes that “everyone who can afford to, will get behind A Good Beer Always Helps and help us to share the campaign so it’s a big success.”

But the campaign has not just been of benefit to essential workers. For Sparkke, the fundraiser has welcomed some much-needed sales after their taproom, like many others, was forced to close after strict social distancing measures were implemented nationwide.

Now, Sparkke has taken this opportunity to adjust, and have decided to move the business online after making the tough decision to close their kitchen and communal seating areas in late March. According to Kari Allen, the decision was not one that was taken lightly.

“Our focus now is to respond to the current Covid-19 risks in ways that keep our community well and also contributes to social cohesion” says Allen. “With the recent limitations on numbers announced by the government – we felt that it was the responsible thing to do.”

From the 19th of March, customers will be able to order from Sparkke’s core range of beers and ciders online with complimentary free shipping Australia wide, as well as order from their kitchen menu for takeaway or delivery. And for those on a budget, a new Haute Lunches menu has been made available for takeaway orders, which will feature a variety of hearty meals and vegan options for just $15 each.

Moving forward in this time of uncertainty, Sparkke will continue to monitor the circumstances, and looks forward to reopening their kitchen and bar to the public whenever it is deemed safe to do so by the government.

As for the campaign, Sparkke is encouraging South Australians to continue donating to ensure that the remaining 9,000 essential workers who have registered for the campaign will receive their four packs as soon as possible.

“We all need to do our bit. We really can’t do it without you. We all need to support each other.”

Donations will continue to be accepted online via the Pozible fundraising page until the end of May.

To donate to ‘A Good Beer Always Helps,’ visit https://bit.ly/agoodbeeralwayshelps

This article was written by a student from UniSA Creative’s ‘Content Creation for Media’ course. Glam Adelaide is pleased to support emerging writers.

More News

To Top