Collaborations for Change

Sketchbook collaborates on a host of fronts, teaming up with breweries, nonprofits and community organizations to be part of the change.

Philanthropy:

Recent and key alliances with local and national nonprofits, usually involving donations of percentages of sales, include: 

  • Evanston Community Foundation and Skokie Foundation: Almost every holiday season we donate to these two fine organizations committed to sustainable communities. 

  • SumACTION A collab with two partners (Wild Onion Market and Evanston Development Cooperative) to create a beer using all Midwest ingredients! This Hazy Pale Ale with Sumac uses malt from Sugar Creek Malt, and Michigan Copper and Chinook from Hop Head Farms. $1 from all 4-packs and pints of SumACTION goes to our two partners.

  • Freedomish: Farmhouse Ale Saison brewed to commemorate Juneteenth and the end of slavery in the confederate states. 100% of the 2022 proceeds were donated to Skokie United and the Evanston Reparations Fund. Read more about the 2022 collab here. This year, Sketchbook will be hosting a collaborative effort of black brewers to create this beer. This year, Sketchbook will be hosting a collaborative effort of black brewers to create this beer.

  • Things We Don’t Say: Hazy IPA brewed in conjunction with Eagle Park Brewing and 140+ other breweries to raise awareness of mental health in our community. We donated 30% of the proceeds from TWDS to Hope for the Day, a non-profit empowering the conversation on suicide prevention and mental health education.

  • People Power: Mexican Lager that was the footprint of Amistosa. We donated 10% of the first batch to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which works to defend the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the US Constitution. 

Brewing together:

Collaborations with local and noteworthy breweries around an inspiring cause makes good sense, and great beer. Some of our recent Beers for Cause include:

  • Beer for the Soul: We teamed up with another Evanston-based women-led company—Soul & Smoke—to create this hoppy Belgian. Read about it here.

  • Brave Noise: We are excited to ally with this great organization pushing to make the brewing sector safer and more equitable. Look for our Brave Noise Pale Ale in early 2022

  • Resilience: West Coast IPA brewed in conjunction with Sierra Nevada and more than 1400 other breweries in response to the 2019 wildfire crisis in California. We donated 100% of the proceeds to benefit those affected by Camp Fire. 

  • Black is Beautiful: Imperial Stout brewed for the Black is Beautiful project hosted by Weathered Soul Brewing Co to raise awareness of the injustices people of color face daily. We donated 100% of the proceeds to the Let Us Breathe Collective, an alliance of artists and activists organizing through a creative lens to imagine a world without prisons and police

  • Diapason: Marzen style Oktoberfest lager brewed for Opus 37, a non-profit formed with a mission to preserve the Opus 327 organ at St. Luke’s Church in Evanston, and to bring live musical performances and musical education to a broad audience. We donated a portion of sales to support this community cultural treasure.   

    Illinois Brewery Running Series with a portion of proceeds donated to our non-profit neighbor Community Area Rescue Effort (CARE).

    Ales of Ryebaldry: Hazy Rye IPA brewed with Against the Grain in Louisville

    Big Fun: Scottish Ale brewed with Pink Boots Society and Barley’s Angels

    Blair Mountain: Hazy DIPA brewed with Weathered Ground brewery in West Virginia

    Cesar’s Cipher: India Pale Lager brewed with Illuminated Brew Works using Omega’s thiol boosting yeast

    Hazemanian Devil: Hazy NE IPA brewed with Against the Grain, brewed in Evanston

    Nova Reperta: Old world saison brewed with Chicago Brewseum and Newberry Library

    Resistance Witch: Brut IPA brewed with Illuminated Brew Works to help manage the awefultude of our times

    Bitte Bitte: Smoked Dunkel Bock brewed for the 2021 Bitter Hops advent calendar

    Defiant Roots: Barrel Aged Belgian Dubbel brewed for Bloodshot Records

    IPAwesome: American IPA brewed with our carbon-smart neighbors LanzaTech

    Lager 742: Helles lager brewed in collaboration with Evanston firefighters and our neighbor Firehouse Grill

    Level Par: Helles lager brewed as the first beer served at Canal Shores

    Moon Rise: Pale Ale brewed for Prairie Moon Restaurant

    Stingo: Old Ale brewed for the American Toby Jug Museum

    The 50: Farmhouse Ale Saison brewed with our carbon-smart neighbors LanzaTech

    Waggle Wit: Witbeer brewed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canal Shores Golf Course

    Holiday Hops: Hazy DIPA brewed for the 2021 Bottles & Cans Fa La La La Beer Box