Bastrop restaurant brews ale for Australian wildfire relief

A Bastrop brewmaster is joining hands with breweries across the globe to help Australia recover from its catastrophic wildfires.

Tom Dickey, co-owner with Lori Dickey of Neighbor’s Kitchen and Yard and its recently opened Iron Bridge Icehouse, is among several brewers who are participating in the brewing of Resilience Beer for Brushfire Relief for Australia. Each participating brewery is cooking up its version of the ale – “Resilience” in its shortened form – from a detailed recipe received from a group of Australian brewmasters. It will be released to the public on the same day across the globe – Feb. 24.

“The community of Bastrop understands what it is to be ravaged by a wildfire – Bastrop is a role model for the resilience theme,” Dickey said, referencing the devastating 2011 Bastrop Complex Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Texas history.

In Australia, at least 33 people have died since the fires broke out in September 2019 – including three U.S. firefighters who crashed in a plane involved in fire suppression. Millions of acres have burned, with more than 3,000 homes destroyed or damaged, according to reports. There has also been a devastating loss of wildlife, and heart-wrenching images have surfaced of rescued koala bears having their burned paws patched up and being fed from milk bottles.

Resilience Beer rose from California fires

Resilience Beer was originated and coined by California brewery Sierra Nevada, which brewed 17,000 barrels (4.2 million pints) of the pale ale, with sales going to support the victims of the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California – the largest wildfire in that state’s history. Neighbor’s previously sold the Sierra Nevada Resilience, which it received in shipments, to support the California relief, but this will be the first time Dickey is brewing onsite his version of the ale, which has a 4.7% alcohol content.

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