Virginia Beach was the scene of a mass shooting on Friday, May 31 and a local brewery is stepping forward to help the community recover.
Back Bay Brewing, a Virginia Beach craft brewery founded in 2011 by a group of friends, is releasing a beer in honor of the 12 victims of the shooting. The beer is called VB Strong Pilsner- a beer that had already been brewed and set for release under a different name when the company decided to rename the beer in remembrance of the shooting victims.
Honoring the victims is nice, but there is more. Back Bay Brewing has also added a charitable angle to this release. Each time this new beer is ordered, the money collected will go directly into a special account, the United Way Virginia Beach Tragedy Fund. The money collected will be distributed directly to the families of the people killed, as well as four others who were injured in the attack.
Travis Powell, head brewer at Back Bay’s Oceanfront location, says the new beer leans toward the light side and he hopes its easy going nature will convince consumers to make the purchase and support the cause.
“It’s on the lighter spectrum of the beers. It’s a beer that is approachable to everyone. It’s really delicious, it’s clear, it’s light, it’s easy-drinking, and hopefully everyone likes it and it raises a lot of money,” said Powell.
What makes this situation even more surreal for Powell is that it is the second time he has been in close proximity to a mass shooting. Back in 2007, another shooter attacked and killed 33 people at Virginia Tech University. Powell was a student at Virginia Tech at that time.
“It’s hard to think that within 12 years, I’ve been within a mile of 44 people killed. It’s not a good feeling,” Powell stated.
At the same time, Powell hopes that the release of VB Strong Pilsner can help local people overcome this tragedy.
“Just like with the Blacksburg community with Virginia Tech, the community here has just been incredible. They have been really, really great. Just bringing everyone together and to show that we are all one and that everyone loves everyone. That is what is important,” Powell said.
My family used to live in Virginia, a few miles away from where this shooting took place. It breaks my heart to hear this happened.
My husband loves beer, and we love Virginia, and we will happily support this company. Thank you for telling us about it!
Craft beer is all about community and Back Bay Brewing is certainly exemplifying what it means to support the local community! Great group of people.