WA Wild’s Conservation & Brewshed® Program Manager, and Board President, Guests on “Bigger Than Beer” Podcast
Our very own Conservation & Brewshed® Program Manager, Chris Chappell, and Ray Kwan, Co-Founder of Lucky Envelope Brewing and Washington Wild’s Board President, sat down with Yakima Chief Hops for the latest episode of their podcast Bigger Than Beer.
The Brewshed® Connection
In the episode, Chris speaks about Washington Wild’s mission to defend and restore Washington’s wild lands and waters, the strategies we employ that make our organization so effective and dives into the Brewshed® connection.
Washington Wild is protecting wild lands and waterways, and no one knows the importance of clean water quite like a brewer. I like to say that one of the reasons why we have incredibly delicious beer here in the PNW is that we have awesome, clean mountain water. So the idea here is [that the Brewshed] is all about bringing together brewing industry businesses to help advocate for these protections. Downstream users protecting upstream values.
Photo: Skykomish River
A Brewer’s Perspective
Ray looks back on the journey to start Lucky Envelope with fellow co-founder and brewmaster, Barry Chan, and speaks to why Seattle is such a fantastic place to brew beer.
From a brewery build-out standpoint, learning that we didn’t need multiple filters because of how fresh and clean our water already was, was a really big deal. And it made it really easy for us–when we got to the meeting with the then-Brewshed Alliance manager–to join and support Washington Wild’s efforts. It was kind of like a no-brainer; why wouldn’t we?
Photo: Collaboration Beer Brewed by Lucky Envelope in 2021 at Lake 22, Chris Chappell
Plugging In and Amplifying
Host Levi Wyatt, the Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for Yakima Chief Hops, speaks to the experience of joining as a member of the Brewshed® Alliance and the opportunities that have arisen from the partnership.
The opportunity [WA Wild] created for us to just plug-in, to read about an initiative or what’s at stake, there’s alot of things that stand to gain protection, and we really value–I can’t emphasize enough–how much we [YCH] values the work ya’ll are doing. … YCH is so happy to be involved in this kind of stuff, because really, like you mentioned, as a party of one you can only do so much. But to get connected to a larger network, that impact can amplify.
In closing, Chris says to “stay tuned … 2023 is going to be a really fun and impactful year for the Washington Brewshed® Alliance”. And Levi is “stoked to … really hit this new year with some enthusiasm and some real change.” You heard it here first–2023 is the year for sustainability–and we can certainly cheers to that!
Listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your podcasts.
About the Bigger Than Beer Podcast 
Produced and hosted by Yakima Chief Hops, the podcast explores topics related to the larger picture of the craft beer community’s impact. Focusing on social, environmental, and sustainability initiatives, hosts and guests share insight with the ultimate goal of discovering solutions for change.
Together, lets build something Bigger Than Beer
The inaugural season launched in 2021 with the series Women+ in the Industry. Season two, which launched in the fall of 2022, has included episodes focused on sustainability with episodes such as Saving Wildlife in Latin America, Pathways to Zero Waste, and most recently, Brewshed® Alliance: Conservation & Craft Beer.
