Brew For One: Manny

Brewing Better Communities Podcast

Our Brew For One benefactor, Manny, passed away suddenly during the final stages of this collaboration. Brew For One: Manny, is now dedicated to Manny’s memory and the relationship we built. Proceeds from this bottle will be donated to his family to cover funeral expenses.

We are incredibly grateful for the relationship we started to build with Manny and the partnerships we further developed with Jobs Of Hope, Weld County Garage, and Creature Comforts Brewing. To collaborate with multiple organizations across sectors with the shared goal of partnering with an individual to improve their life is both humbling and inspiring. The spirit of Brew For One is to encourage anyone out there to do for one what we wish we could do for everyone. It's difficult to address the many challenges of the world but that doesn't mean we shouldn't start somewhere, even with just one person.

Manny was selected as our Brew For one partner in part because of need but also because of his deep humility, courage, and inspirational outlook on the future. In the time that we got to know Manny, it was clear that he was a thoughtful and caring human that grew up and lived much of his life in challenging spaces. We learned a lot from Manny and would like to share his story.

Manny's Story:

Manny recently served 12 years in a high-security facility here in Colorado. Like many youths growing up in the foster care system, Manny found himself in and out of juvenile justice centers. Through a series of events, he was eventually arrested in a narcotics trafficking bust in his 20s. Because of the context of his arrest, Manny was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He served 12 of those years, the last two during the COVID-19 pandemic- creating even greater challenges to an already difficult and isolating situation. Upon his release, Manny eventually found a support system with Jobs Of Hope - a nonprofit focused on assisting the reintegration of the recently incarcerated and gang-affiliated men of our community. Jobs of Hope connected us with Manny as our Brew For One benefactor. We learned that a dependable car was one of Manny's greatest needs to help build his career, reconnect with his family, and reach his ultimate goal of owning a home. Weld County Garage quickly jumped on the opportunity to help provide this need for Manny. Unfortunately, while undergoing this partnership, Manny suffered a heart attack and passed away suddenly.

You can hear Manny tell his own story by listening to his episode on the Brewing Better Communities podcast, captured a few weeks prior to his passing.

Gratitude:

Thank you Jobs Of Hope for introducing us to Manny and for your guidance while we undertook a new approach to serving the Weld County community. Thank you Weld County Garage for your immediate and deeply motivated support in this collaboration. Thank you Creature Comforts for partnering with us not only on the Brew For One beer but for positioning yourself as a true collaborator, mentor, and learner in strategizing more impactful ways to improve the communities we are in.

And of course, we would like to thank Manny. It is incredibly important to work alongside those you seek to help and to build a sincere relationship. Manny gave us the opportunity to do this and taught us a lot along the way. While we will miss the relationship we could have had we will forever be grateful for what we did have. Thank you, Manny.

Brew for One: Manny: Beer Description:
This barrel-aged stout is a particularly special one. Brewed in collaboration with our friends, Creature Comforts Brewing, it's the culmination of the first Brew for One™ partnership. Brew For One™ was created to address a pressing need of one individual in the community. Similar to our barrel selection process, we selected our benefactor here in Greeley, Colorado, and Creature Comforts did the same in Athens, Georgia. Creature Comforts selected a Medianoche base beer aged 25 months in a 19-year-old Elijah Craig barrel and WeldWerks selected a Medianoche base aged 27 months in a 15-year-old Sazerac Rye. The flavors of both barrels meld together perfectly, just like the partnership between Creature Comforts and WeldWerks.

Learn more about our Brew For One partners:

• Business Partners
  • Creature Comforts Brewery
  • Weld County Garage
• Nonprofit Partners
  • Jobs Of Hope
  • Joy Village