October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and just as in years past, Canteen Brewhouse, High and Dry Brewing, and Steel Bender Brewyard are joining forces to help out.

The Pink Warrior House Foundation is the designated non-profit, and all three breweries will be contributing a portion of the proceeds on specific beers.

Needing a little more info, we sent four questions via email to Canteen general manager Jamie Schwebach, who has been spearheading this collaborative effort for three years.

NMDSBC: How did all of this start with Canteen and Pink Warrior House?

Schwebach: I sit on the board for the Pink Warrior House Foundation. The founder, Allison Hendricks Smith, started the non-profit in early 2019 after her own battle with breast cancer. She realized there were services that were unavailable for patients, so she started a non-profit to fill that gap.  

NMDSBC: How did Steel Bender and High and Dry also get involved?

Schwebach: Great question! I don’t even remember how we all decided to partner three years ago, but so happy we did! We partner to help raise funds for Pink Warrior in October and to raise funds for Agora Crisis Center in November.  Breast cancer and mental illness have an impact on all of us (we all know someone who is battling or has battled), and we think it is important to work together and support our community. Pink Warrior House helps warriors so much, and is an integral part of the community that deserves our support. We are so happy to join forces to help raise funds and bring awareness. 

NMDSBC: How can the public show their support at each brewery?

Schwebach: Each brewery has a delightful pink beer available all month, where $1 from each pour will be donated. Steel Bender is donating from their Raspberry Dynamite, High and Dry from a rotating fruited sour, and we are donating from Pink Warrior. Both Steel Bender and Canteen will be donating $1 from six-pack sales, as well, of the designated brew. We are also hosting a virtual Drink and Dash for Pink on October 17. Registration is $30 and you get a pint from each brewery on us, while the registration fee goes directly to the Pink Warrior House. We did this in person two years ago and hope to do it in person again next year! Folks can register at this link or go to pinkwarriorhouse.org and donate directly to the organization. 

NMDSBC: I saw that Zach brewed up a Pink Warrior beer this year and put it in cans. What kind of beer is it?

Schwebach: We just canned it (Wednesday)! This is the second year we have done this and hope to grow this beer. It is a rotating fruited sour or wheat each year. This year it is strawberry/rhubarb-fruited wheat! You get lots of strawberry and hints of vanilla. 

A big thanks to Jamie for the information. Drink some beer and do some good. We like the sound of that.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister