Lakewood Brewing Does The Right Thing

Nobody likes to see a beer that they brewed, slighted by the press. But that’s what happened last August, when Garland, Texas-based Lakewood Brewing saw their beloved session IPA, panned online in a D Magazine’s Side/Dish blog.

, Lakewood Brewing Does The Right ThingHey, all breweries necessarily develop thick skin – craft beer fans (and critics) after all, have opinions.

But it wasn’t so much that Hopochondria was criticized – it was how it was criticized that created a slow-building firestorm in the Dallas – Ft Worth area last summer.

In the piece, which took on Dallas Session IPAs, Lakewood Hopochondria was described by one of the D Magazine staffers ( and we paraphrase here), as tasting like beer strained through a tube sock that had been stolen from a hobo.

Oops…

Hey It’s okay to have a beer preference, but did the article really need to go there? Homelessness is a real problem in America – and to suggest stealing from the homeless, even offhandedly – shows a pronounced insensitivity for the issue and its victims.

And the staffer wanting “to beat the crap out of that hobo for not better managing his socks,” (yikes) further fueled the controversy.

We can’t help but think this whole thing started badly (and we’re pretty sure that this publication would have worded things differently, if given another chance)…

But thankfully things didn’t end that way.

Lakewood’s founder, Wim Bens stepped in to turn this unfortunate incident into a positive – a positive that might actually help the Dallas/ Ft Worth homeless community in its own small way.

, Lakewood Brewing Does The Right Thing

Working with The Stewpot, an organization dedicated to providing for the unmet needs of the homeless around DFW, Wim decided to donate 100% of the Hopochondria’s Taproom profits – from last August to the end of NTX Beer Week – to purchase new socks for the homeless.

, Lakewood Brewing Does The Right ThingD Magazine (Sidedish Blog) also stepped up and generously committed to donate $500 toward the cause.

Hey criticism comes with the territory when you brew professionally – as it does for those of us who write for a living….But It’s always nice when something good comes from anything.

And you should have seen the socks and the smiles, when Wim Bens and his crew gifted the region’s homeless and the Stewpot organization at a special event held last Thursday…

Like we said it…It’s always nice when something good comes from anything.

 

Event photos: Copyright: Alex Lepe 2015

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