Tradewinds Brewing Co. joins international craft brewery movement to raise money for humanitarian aid in Ukraine

Tradewinds Brewing Company in Riverhead is joining an international craft brewery movement to help raise money for humanitarian aid in Ukraine during Russia’s invasion of the country.

Tradewinds is brewing Red Eyes, an American red ale, using the recipe of the Pravda Beer Theatre, a Ukrainian brewery that launched its “Victory Beer Series” international fundraising effort this weekend. All profits generated from the sale of the beer will go to Pravda’s relief fund for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, owner Duffy Griffiths said. 

The beer will be available starting Friday, March 18, Griffiths said.

“I think everybody’s in the same boat where everybody’s horrified by what’s going on over [in Ukraine] and kind of feel helpless, or powerless to help, just because of the situations,” Griffiths said. “So this seemed like a good way to at least help the people that are being affected by it.”

The Pravda Beer Theatre, which is located in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, made international headlines because it stopped making beer and started making molotov cocktails for the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces to defend Lviv. The brew Pravda is using to make the molotov cocktails is called ‘Putin Huylo’, a Ukrainian term commonly translated as ‘Putin is a d—khead.’

The brewery posted the recipes and customs labels for their beers on their website on Saturday.

“As peaceful craft brewers, we want to return to the normal life asap and enjoy brewing and drinking,” Pravda states on their website. “But first we must kick the cockroaches out of our land. No more Gulags, Holodomors and oppression. It’s a decisive moment for Ukraine, Europe and democracies of the world.”

“Soon will win this war and have a good beer. The Beer of Victory,” the website reads