Sort of - Blastmagazine.com recently interviewed Brian and he gave an enlightening account of our operations. Click
Sam Adams is currently the most popular beer with a name based on a historical figure. With “Brew-rack Obama,” Duncan Remage-Healey and Brian Gravel are looking to change that.
There are plenty of people who brew their own beer, but far fewer of these industrious individuals attempt to use people’s love for the beverage to try to make a difference in their community. That is just what Remage-Healey and Gravel, the people behind Thunder Boomer, are attempting to do with their operation, though.
Remage-Healey and Gravel both work for Habitat for Humanity, and both are lovers of beer. They have combined these two elements into one idea, where the brewing and distribution of beer can be used to earn money for more socially oriented and charitable purposes. The brewery-which has no official base outside of the member’s homes-has not quite reached that stage yet, but they are working towards the goal.
Gravel is well aware of the hurdles in front of them, in trying to combine the sale of beer with charity, and they also would need to try to focus on creating a beer to establish themselves with rather than spending their time experimenting on creating new products. That has not stopped the flow of ideas on how to use their brewing skills to the advantage of the community. Gravel mentioned that they could use profits from beer sales to fund small-scale community projects, such as revamping a plot of land and turning it into a park to play in, or a dog park for your canine companions.
The money does not necessarily have to come from sales either; as Gravel mentioned, donations would suffice in lieu of paying for what is essentially a beer tab if Thunder Boomer ale was used to cater a party or gathering. As the operation has been done entirely out of the pockets of Gravel and Remage-Healey, this does not seem like too much to ask when there is a greater good involved.
This socially conscious line of thinking has taken strong hold of the northeastern United States as of late, with the influence of a market ready to accept those trends seen everywhere you look, from grocery choices such as Trader Joe’s to what Gravel and Remage-Healey hope their as of now small enterprise can develop into. With this region and the rest of the country more and more aware of how their actions influence the environment around them, and how even doing the little things can make a significant difference, the time is right for Thunder Boomer to try its hand at a market that clearly exists-beer drinkers who also double as socially conscious individuals.
If you have purchased alcohol lately, or even if you have just walked by the windows or your local distributor, you know what kind of money is involved in the business. Now, if that money could somehow be injected into the community, not only would you improve your surroundings, but you would be doing your part to help simply by cracking open a cold one, and that’s a good feeling to have-one Thunder Boomer hopes to capitalize on in the future.
The pair has developed a beer in time for election season as well, and they have named it for their candidate of choice, Barack Obama. The double IPA was dubbed “Brew-Rack Obama”, a nod to the Democratic Convention’s nominee-he was anointed thus the night Thunder Boomer brewed and bottled the brew. Whether the bottles will be opened in celebration or in mourning will be seen this coming Tuesday evening, when the winner of the general election is announced and the next President known.
Keeping the name Brew-Rack Obama could pose a problem eventually with licensing, but for now, it’s a tribute put together by a pair who hold both their love of beer and charity dear to them-the hope is that there are enough people out there with the same mindset that can help these Habitat employees make a difference in a community they care about.
