Good Hops Brewing

Walking Tall

Good Hops Brewing lifts up those in need

very couple months, Good Hops Brewing, a craft brewery in Carolina Beach near Wilmington, hosts a community barbecue fundraiser event to help a mobile, missional nonprofit organization in the area that is helping people living in poverty.

Walking Tall Wilmington was launched in April 2017 by founder and director Randy Evans. It works toward removing obstacles to supply goods and services to people living in impoverished areas in New Hanover County.

One of the major avenues that has helped Walking Tall Wilmington meet the needs of people living in poverty has been the relationships built with local craft breweries in the Wilmington area like Wrightsville Beach Brewery and Wilmington Brewing Co.

“If anybody was going to talk about Walking Tall Wilmington, then breweries are going to be synonymous about what we do,” Evans said. “Tat’s how we got connected with the food trucks in the area. Now, we have several food trucks that donate meals once or twice a month for us. I recognized with the brewery scene in Wilmington before it started to blow up that I could engage with these small businesses and it doesn’t look like I’m jumping on the gravy train. I’ve been invested in these breweries from the beginning.”

No brewery has done more for Walking Tall Wilmington than Good Hops Brewing.

In March, Walking Tall Wilmington and Good Hops Brewing had their latest partnership and family-friendly event as the Spring BBQ fundraiser supplied barbecue chicken, mashed

Epotatoes, green beans and other items. In addition, the event featured a live band. Another similar event is scheduled to take place May 27 on Memorial Day weekend. Evans said the events that are held on Sundays have been going on since Good Hops Brewing started operations in 2015 and traditionally have drawn crowds of around 300 people. “When we first did the barbecue on New Year’s Day in 2015, we thought we’re going to have 60 people and ended up having more than 250 people,” he said. Good Hops Brewing goes out of its way to showcase Walking Tall Wilmington’s logo with their logo on pint glasses and cups during the community fundraiser events. Good Hops Brewing is owned by Patricia and Richard Jones.

By Corey Davis

26 | Carolina Brew Scene | Summer 2018

“Tey’re genuine good people, and we wouldn’t be as far as we are without their support,” Evans said. “We don’t receive any state or federal funding and they give us a pretty good percentage that is made from those events.

“Tere is no brewery in that area that is more connected to the community.”

Being active in the community and helping the less fortunate was something the Joneses acknowledged they were doing before they moved and started a business in the Wilmington community.

“My husband and I were the type of people that always gave to panhandlers,” Patricia Jones said. “Te reason I called them that because when we were living in Athens, Ga., that was the term the city council used there to have a more organized form of helping the people. Tey didn’t feel like it was the right idea to just hand dollars to people who were having a difficult time taking care of themselves. However, it was refreshing when we moved here that it was somebody doing a lot genuinely to help people in poverty. Randy has filled that void with or without money.

“He is doing good for people who are struggling to take care of themselves.”

Evans understand there are people out there that don’t think beer and poverty should be involved together.

“Tere are people that may have issues with alcohol in general and my argument is that’s OK, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t do something good at what you’ve been given,” Evans said. “With these breweries, if that’s their gifts and they choose to use it in a positive and effective way, then that’s good.

“You don’t necessarily have to agree with the alcohol aspect, but you also, objectively speaking, can’t deny that they’re contributing in various ways to the local economy, community and charity-wise.”

Good Hops Brewing sponsors many events to support Walking Tall Wilmington.

Summer 2018 | Carolina Brew Scene | 27