Family-run Bays Brewery in Paignton is helping raise much-needed funds for Dartmoor Search & Rescue (Ashburton) with the launch of its brand-new charity brew ‘Tracker Ale’. Available in bottles, cask and beer boxes from 26 February 2024, the smooth pale ale is made using a blend of UK and American hops, with tropical aromas as mysterious as the moorland landscape.
Director of Bays Brewery, Peter Salmon, said: “As a family-run brewery that’s passionate about flying the flag for the local area, we’re always looking at how we can give something back to our community and ‘Tracker Ale’ is a great way to say ‘cheers’ to a charity close to our hearts. We’re thrilled to be working with the Ashburton team – a group of volunteers who respond to incidents in Torbay and beyond, and without whom the emergency services would not have enough resources to search for those in need.”
Bays will be donating 5% of every pint and bottle sold to the Ashburton division to help fund the replacement of its oldest Land Rover for future missions in Torbay, Dartmoor and East Devon. The Devon charity is made up of more than 60 volunteers who provide 24/7 on-call assistance to the emergency services with the search and rescue of the lost, missing, injured and vulnerable. Its team attends a range of incidents including steep ground and swift water rescues throughout Dartmoor, Devon and the South West, as well as major incidents across England and Wales. With over 92% of its income reliant on public support, 5% of proceeds from ‘Tracker Ale’ will help the Dartmoor rescuers purchase a new vehicle for transporting team members and kit to and during incidents across South Devon and Torbay.
Kevin Chamberlain from Dartmoor Search & Rescue (Ashburton) added: “The Team attend around 40 incidents a year at the request of Devon & Cornwall Police, and our volunteers give up a lot of their time attending callouts, training and maintaining vehicles and equipment. It’s great to have the support of local businesses like Bays Brewery with our fundraising, and especially as their product, a great range of beers, is an important part of our team building after training and incidents.”
As well as ‘Tracker Ale’, the Paignton-based brewery is supporting a number of other top Devon charities throughout 2024 with its limited-edition ‘charity brews’ concept.
Its second charity beer ‘Funky Monkey’ will be available from April and will see the Torbay brewery partner up with its good friends at Paignton Zoo once again to celebrate its new baboon enclosure.
In July, its third charity brew ‘Chopper Ale’ will take flight, with beer drinkers able to enjoy their pint in the knowledge that they are supporting the vital work of Devon Air Ambulance with every sip.
Completing the charity line-up from November will be ‘Jingle Ale’, a deep amber ale that spreads some festive cheer with 5% of proceeds supporting Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW).
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