Drink Beer. Save Turtles. (DBST)
by Jordan Gray
One month, three breweries, hundreds of pints, and charismatic turtle ambassadors. If you love drinking craft beer, engaging in interesting conversation, and meeting some new shelled friends, then September was a great month.
The Turtle Survival Alliance has been on a roll with providing a setting for our communities to participate in two things we love: the drinking of beer, and the sharing of our passion for turtles. In the past month, the TSA has partnered with three breweries in three different cities, separated by thousands of miles, to expand our outreach to those interested in the work we do.
On September 14th, our President Rick Hudson, Director of Development Ilze Astad, and Chief Administrative Officer Chris Clark took turtles into orbit as we partnered with Charleston, South Carolina's Holy City Brewing to debut "Space Turtle," a green tea-infused Double Imperial Pale Ale (from our pseudoscientific research over the years, turtle nerds love IPA's). Thanks in part to that hot South Carolina sun, TSA merchandise was in high-demand at this event, as we couldn't keep official "Drink Beer, Save Turtles" hats on the shelf!
Only ten days, and 1,300 miles later we were floating down Bull Creek (well, snorkeling to be exact) in Austin, Texas, with Hops and Grain Brewing's "River Beer" as the TSA celebrated "Turtlemania 2," a collaborative event between the TSA, County Line on the Lake Barbecue, Hops and Grain Brewing, and the TSA-North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group's Autumn sample of the turtle population in Bull Creek. Beginning at 10:30 AM, guests, including local news media, were encouraged to come watch the TSA scientists in action as they snorkeled and dip-netted for the six native turtle species that inhabit Bull Creek, a tributary of Lake Austin. The TSA is conducting a long-term population monitoring effort for these turtles, an assemblage that seems to base their daily activity patterns around the peak times of dining at County Line Barbecue (we know we would, their barbecue is amazing!).
We must not have any memory of traveling, because on Sept 30th, the TSA in collaboration with Spoonwood Brewing Co. and the Turtle Room, was experiencing a "Turtle Recall," having teleported 1,400 miles to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A fan favorite of Spoonwood's brewery groupies, this year's Drink Beer, Save Turtles purveyed a specially crafted IPA (there it is again) featuring coconut, lime zest, lactose, and vanilla bean. TSA-NAFTRG scientists were on hand to delight guests with tales of turtle catching, while the Turtle Room greeted event goers with some of their beautiful animal ambassadors.
"Drink Beer, Save Turtles" is an exceptional way to bring people together, unveil a new flavor of beer, and get people interested in chelonian conservation. If you would like your brewery to partner with the TSA for a DBST event, please contact Digital Content and Community Coordinator, David Hedrick at dhedrick@turtlesurvival.org.