Overview
In the latest show of the Australian hospitality scene's support for marriage equality, the owners of Brisbane bar The End are ramping up production of their Rainbow Beer through a $100,000AUD Pozible campaign, with 50 percent of all profits supporting initiatives run by Australian Marriage Equality. The campaign will enable large-scale production of the brew, which, at its core, aims to bring the conversation of LGBTQI+ rights to the forefront.
"We have lots of friends and family that identify in that community and the marriage debate is just a blatant beacon of unfairness, so if we can do anything to help we feel we have the responsibility to do it," says owner Nick Goding. "We want to encourage as many people to get on board as possible and I'm currently on the campaign trail in Melbourne to get more bars involved."
The 'pro-love' beer has been on tap in small batch quantities at their West End bar since 2011, but, along with Goding, owners Timothy Lovett and Ben Johnston have been feeling lately that this quiet contribution isn't enough. Their plan is to make the simple, hand-painted brand louder and stronger by expanding it past their local community.
"We were having a general chat about the Cooper's boycott controversy and how terrible the marriage equality debate is, then had a look in front of us at our Rainbow Beer and thought we could make it a larger force for positive change," says Goding.
The beer itself is a crisp, easy-drinking German-style pilsner. The gents collaborated on the recipe with a Queensland microbrewery to make it a solid craft brew but also a sessionable one.
If successful, the Pozible campaign will allow Rainbow Beer to be offered in cartons and wholesale for bars and consumers around Australia. Pledges range from $15 to $4000, with the latter a pledge to become a 'Rainbow Bar', which includes 12 kegs and the option for an ongoing contract.
"We hope that having a bunch of bars with Rainbow cans in their fridge will help keep the conversation going," says Goding. ""As great as it is to be able to make the beer and do the donations, the message of equality is by far the most important part of the campaign." Apart from the donated portion, the pledges will cover beer production and canning as well as packaging and distribution. The Pozible campaign is only running through May 12, though, so the time to check it out is now.
The debate around marriage equality has been continuously escalating in recent months, with Airbnb's incomplete rings, Skyy Vodka's Cheers to Equality and Smirnoff's We're Open campaigns also recently launched. According to Galaxy Research polls, 64 percent of Australians support marriage equality, so it's likely more brands will herald their support for the cause.