New lager raises sobering thoughts on Reef custodianship

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Beer lovers can now be responsible not only for their alcohol intake, but also for helping to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

Australian social enterprise beer brewers Sobah and The Good Beer Co have combined to create a Tropical Lager Coral’ation (TLC) beer in support of First Nations custodianship of the Great Barrier Reef.

Although both companies are based in south-east Queensland, the importance of the Great Barrier Reef’s place as a beautifully unique, and vulnerable, natural wonder of the world has prompted the TLC campaign.

Sobah, Australia’s first non-alcoholic craft beer company and the only Aboriginal-owned and led beer company, is launching the limited-edition lager.

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Four dollars from every 16-pack sold will assist First Nations women to participate in the Coral Sea Foundation’s Sea Women of the Great Barrier Reef marine biology training program.

Dr Clinton Schultz, co-founder of Sobah, says supporting Sea Women of the Great Barrier Reef, and developing Indigenous women’s skills to act as guardians for the Reef in their local communities, was a “no-brainer” for Sobah and The Good Beer Co.

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“The Coral Sea Foundation is a fantastic organisation committed to the protection and stewardship of the Great Barrier Reef and North Queensland’s coral reefs, and to backing traditional owners and First Nations peoples to protect them,” Clinton says.

“As a First Nations business, Sobah exists to champion Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, health, and well-being.

“It operates on the Gamilaraay Lore principles of respect for people and place, and respect for sea country and our environment is in Sobah’s DNA.”

Sobah’s patronage of the Reef is in addition to its campaign to help save the Daintree Rainforest with sales from its Lemon Aspen Pilsner contributing to the conservation efforts of forest regeneration and conservation organisation HalfCut. 

More information about the initiative. 

In addition to the TLC campaign, the Reef’s health is also being championed by Cairns businesses.

Owners of White Whale Coffee Roasters in Portsmith, Ali Slotemaker and Steve Lee, wanted their business to be about something greater than simply providing them with a living, choosing to re-brand and team with the Reef Restoration Foundation (RRF) as a corporate sponsor in 2019.

Ali says the White Whale moniker, a nod famed white whale Migaloo which travels past Cairns on its annual migration, is a subtle reminder of nature and the need to include the environment in our decision making.

“We donate a percentage of all White Whale coffee bean purchases, retail and wholesale, to help RRF regenerate damaged coral reefs by establishing ocean-based coral nurseries,” Ali said.

“The Far North's economy is certainly linked to the health of the Great Barrier Reef. Therefore, we believe White Whale's contribution to assist RRF is profound and far-reaching.”

White Whale Roasters have contributed almost $70,000 to RRF since 2019.

Hemingway’s Brewery is another local business to on a mission to help the reef.

The Cairns-based craft brewery donates 50 per cent of its profit from the sale of 7th Heaven Tropical Ale cans to the Great Barrier Reef Legacy, a not-for-profit social enterprise which aims to secure the reef’s long-term survival through reef expeditions, innovative science, education, and public engagement.