Wynkoop Brewing Company is partnering with the Denver-based Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund (MGCF) to raise money and support for aiding the endangered mountain gorillas of Africa.
From July through October, Wynkoop Brewing Company and its allied Wynkoop Holdings establishments (Cherry Cricket, Wazee Supper Club, Pearl Street Grill, Phantom Canyon Brewing Company, Gaetano's Italian and Goosetown Tavern) will serve a special fundraising beer, Silverback Smoked Porter.
The beer is an Imperial-style porter of 7.2 percent ABV that's made with ample of amounts of pale, roasted and caramel malts, and a hearty amount (about 35 percent) of beechwood-smoked malts from Bamburg, Germany. The result is a robust, assertive-but-refreshing dark beer with a tawny head and rich flavors of coffee, chocolate and smoked malt.
Wynkoop is donating 25 percent of all sales of the beer at its brewpub and allied establishments to the MGCF.
Wynkoop is also sponsoring a drawing that gives the winner and their guest a chance to visit the highly endangered mountain gorillas in Africa. The prize package for the "In the Steps of
Dian Fossey" contest includes two roundtrip tickets from the U.S. to Rwanda or Uganda, hotel accommodations, transportation and two gorilla permits.
There is no purchase necessary to enter the drawing, and the winning entry will be drawn on Oct. 25 at Wynkoop following the completion of the 5th Annual Gorilla Run fundraising race for the MGCF. The race involves hundreds of runners in gorilla costumes who run through the downtown section of Denver. Wynkoop sponsors and hosts the race each year.
For complete drawing and Gorilla Run race details visit www.denvergorillarun.com
"We are delighted with the incredible help that Wynkoop and its affiliates are giving the MGCF," said
Frank Keesling, Vice President of MGCF. "It's fantastic when local businesses become 'Silverbacks' and leaders in their community by bringing attention to our organization and the terrible plight of the mountain gorilla."
Keesling's mother,
Ruth Keesling, met Dian Fossey in 1983 and answered Fossey's call for help with the pioneering research Fossey was leading in Rwanda at the time. Keesling elevated her efforts after Fossey was murdered in Rwanda in 1985, and went on to set up several aid groups for the gorillas.
She and Frank Keesling launched the MGCF in 2000 in an effort to assist the Rwandan government in its gorilla protection and awareness efforts.
Today, Frank Keesling says, "We're trying to build a new education center in Rwanda that teaches wildlife health management and enables students to get veterinary degrees. It's a three-story building, the cost for phase one of the building is $150,000. So far we've raised about $50,000 for this first phase."
"The mountain gorillas," Keesling says, "are the closest animal link to mankind and they're on the verge of extinction. There are only an estimated 720 of them left in the world and none of them are in captivity."
Wynkoop's
Mark Schiffler says the MGCF is the perfect type of beneficiary for the brewpub's charity efforts. "The MGCF is doing important work for a very important cause that few Colorado residents know about," says Shiffler. "The group also has a sense of humor in their approach, and they enjoy great beer. So that makes them an even more appealing partner for us."
For details on the MGCF visit www.saveagorilla.org .