Karl Strauss Brewing Company has a long tradition of supporting the local community, and 2008 was no exception. Despite a turn for the worse in the economy, the company made the commitment to increase their charitable contributions from the year before.

This last year, Karl Strauss participated in 284 events throughout Southern California, donating the equivalent of 3,264 cases of beer! For the second year in a row, the company donated 1% of their total beer sales, which amounted to more than $63,500 in donated beer—an increase of $8,500 over 2007.

At its own fundraising beer and music fests, Karl Strauss raised support and awareness for the Surfrider Foundation. Last May, the company hosted Beach to Brewery and raised $17,000 for the San Diego Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. Louis XIV headlined and over 3,000 San Diegan’s turned out to support their local beaches. Going beyond a monetary donation, Karl Strauss worked with Surfrider to address important issues such as implementing a new recycling plan for the event which diverted over 50% of the waste to recycling and featuring 100% organic event shirts. Beach to Brewery also rallied employees behind a company-wide beach clean-up.

The love spread up the coast in October when the company brought Karlfest to Costa Mesa. Having partnered with Surfrider for over 5 years in San Diego, Karlfest was the perfect opportunity to expand the relationship to the Orange County chapters of Surfrider. The first OC Karlfest was a huge success with a packed house, four guest breweries from around Orange County, live music, and a first-time donation of $2,500 to the South Orange County and Newport Beach Chapters of Surfrider. The company looks forward to building on that momentum in 2009.

It’s a company core value to care for others, the community, and the environment. Donating to local non-profits and hosting fundraising events are a tangible way to live out that core value. Karl Strauss Brewing Company, being passionate about local brewing, is able to combine this core value with its passion for local brewing through the Karl Strauss Brewers Education Fund. In honor of the late Master Brewer Karl Strauss, the fund was established to help finance education and training for aspiring brewers in Southern California. To celebrate Karl’s birthday in October, the brewers created an Imperial Amber Lager with proceeds from each pint sold going into the Fund. Imperial Amber Lager drinkers helped add $3,000 to the fund. Cheers to that.

About Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Two college grads, a 75-year-old master brewer, and a passion for beer… when Karl Strauss Brewing Company started brewing full-flavored, quality handcrafted beer in 1989, it was the first craft brewery to open in San Diego since Prohibition. Today, you can enjoy our flagship beers, special releases, and seasonals at any of our six brewery restaurants or other fine drinking establishments throughout Southern California. For more information visit karlstrauss.com or call the brewery at (858) 273-2739.