Brewery’s airship Gabriel delivers much needed supplies to most impacted areas
San Marcos, CA (April 1, 2010) — The Lost Abbey Brewing Company mobilized resources and personnel to assist in international reliefs efforts following the severe disaster that destroyed much of the affected region’s craft beer supplies.
The Lost Abbey has had a long-standing presence in the area, and currently distributes bottled and kegged beers to finer eateries and beverage stores throughout the hardest hit metropolitan districts.
According to reports from Lost Abbey representatives in the region, the disaster and its aftermath destroyed hundreds — perhaps thousands — of Lost Abbey bottles in homes sending citizens into the streets in search of more. As remaining emergency stockpiles on retailer’s shelves and distribution warehouses run low, the public has become increasingly desperate and agitated.
In response to the growing crisis The Lost Abbey world headquarters in San Marcos, California announced an unprecedented relief effort, sending a army of staffers, and pallets of crystal stemware and premium Lost Abbey beers aboard the company’s largest airship, The Gabriel, to assist survivors.
Captained by Lost Abbey’s director of brewery operations, Tomme Arthur, The Gabriel docked at a soccer field serving as a refugee camp and dispensed much needed beers and proper serving vessels to a grateful crowd.
“It’s hard to imagine what these people have gone through,” said Lost Abbey’s David Johnson as he handed cases of Angel’s Share, Veritas, and Red Poppy down to a jostling crowd of outthrust arms.
“People have been known to live weeks without food and water, but good craft beer, that’s much harder. It’s lucky we could get here as quickly as we did or it could have been much worse.”
Johnson then stopped at the edge of the airship’s bay door and bent down to hand a tired, wide-eyed girl a pristine white case of bottles.
“That’s Cable Car, sweetie. You make sure your mommy and daddy get that, okay?” he said. The girl brightened visibly, turned and ran off into the crowd.
“It’s faces like that that make all of this worth it,” Johnson said.
A few hundred yards from the airship, Tomme Arthur walked among the makeshift city of tents, coolers and kegerators, surveying the impact of the disaster.
“It’s hard to imagine losing a good bottle or two from the cellar. I can’t imagine the pain these people — people who have lost everything; every single beer — are going through,” he said.
“I mean, look at that over there,” Tomme Arthur said gesturing to a group of people with makeshift tables and chairs in the stadium stands. “This is what they’re reduced to — drinking a warm IPA out of plastic cups. You know they’re suffering.”
Back at the airship Gabriel, Johnson and the rest of the Lost Abbey crew finished emptying the hangar and prepared for a trip back to the brewery for a quick re-supply and return.
“Right now we’re doing 16 to 20 hours days, but no one minds,” a visibly exhausted Johnson said. “When you see the effect we’re having on people here, it’s all worth it.”
A few moments later Tomme Arthur returned to the ship and barked in his familiar captain’s voice “Fire up the engines and prepare to cast off! We have to be back tomorrow with another 1,000 cases of Yellow Bus!”
