A brewery in Greeley, Colorado announced that it raised $5,500 last month with proceeds to help fight COVID-19. Wiley Roots Brewing Company released a blood orange hard seltzer in 16 oz four-packs called Howl at the Moon Together to raise money to supply local organizations with needed sanitizer and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including gloves and masks.  By partnering with Innovative Labeling Solutions, Source of Nature, Propagate Lab, and the distribution arm of WeldWerks Brewing Company, Wiley Roots was able reduce the cost of production, allowing the brewery to raise as much money as possible from the sale of the hard seltzer.

Howl at the Moon Together received its name from the collective 8pm howl that can be heard across Colorado which pays tribute to essential and frontline workers.  The hard seltzer is a refreshing 4.5% ABV made with whole fruit blood orange purée. 

Head Brewer and Co-Founder of Wiley Roots Kyle Carbaugh, said he wanted to help but didn’t know how.  One night in April when he heard the 8pm howl, it inspired him to do something by creating a blood orange seltzer to raise money. The brewery chose to brew a seltzer because of the shorter turnaround time it takes to produce.  The  cans were released online May 1st,  with pick-up from their newly created drive-thru. Director of Sales and Co-Founder of Wiley Roots, Miranda Carbaugh, indicated that Howl at the Moon Together was also distributed to select liquor stores across the Front Range and Colorado Springs and that the seltzer was an instant hit, quickly selling out at the brewery and selling out in less than a day at several liquor stores.

“We are so happy that we received such an incredibly enthusiastic response from our wholesale accounts, we were truly overwhelmed by the support, said Carbaugh. “Many of our accounts sold out of their order for Howl At The Moon Together within 24 hours; that’s an incredible feeling to see people rally around our community from across the state.”

All of the money raised was donated to the WeldWerks Community Foundation to help subsidize the costs of producing sanitizer and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including gloves and masks, for local organizations in Greeley, Colorado.  By contributing an additional $5,500, Wiley Roots was able to contribute additional resources to the efforts as the initial supplies were donated to frontline workers and community organizations approved by the Community Foundation board of directors with a budget of $10,000 which was completely depleted at the start of the seltzer project. 

“Weld Co is in desperate need of PPE efforts to protect our community,” said Neil Fisher, Head Brewer and Co-Founder of WeldWerks. “And while we don’t have the bandwidth to become a fulltime PPE company, as long as we have a way to help, we will,” stated Fisher.

By working together with friends, vendors, partners, and neighbors, Wiley Roots was able to quickly create a product that was able to raise a significant amount of money toward a collective effort in the fight against COVID-19. Greeley, Colorado is nationally known as the location of the best breweries in the country and this project is another example of those breweries working together to support their community.