Brewing a better tomorrow is what one veteran hopes to do with his beer.
Graeme Hafey spent 21 years in the Canadian Forces including service in the Middle East after 9/11.
After he returned to civilian life, he was diagnosed with PTSD.
“We come out with invisible scars sometimes,” says Hafey.
“You’ll never be who you were [before] and I can’t remember who I was, but you can go forward and be a new, improved person.”
Now he owns V2V Black Hops Brewing, which gives all proceeds to organizations that help veterans with PTSD.
“I think inadvertently it’s been therapeutic and I never knew it,” says Hafey.
But as a small non-profit, he didn’t have a steady stream of cash flow on tap.
That’s when he found Spinnakers.
Now, Black Hops is on a contract, using the pub’s vats to make their batches of beer.
“We’re happy to help out with things like this,” says Paul Hadfield, owner of the brewpub.
“People bring home a lot of baggage. It’s just a way that we can help. It’s just our way of saying thanks.”
Currently, Black Hops sells “Victory Ale,” which is dedicated to the army, and “The Brig,” for the navy.
They plan to expand with two more beers. One dedicated to the air-force and one for first responders, to be revealed in the fall.
“Police, firefighters, paramedics… these people are dealing with real traumas and what they do I really respect,” says Hafey.
“It’ll be something that encapsulates all of that.”
You can find Black Hops Brewing on tap at the Six Mile Pub or at select liquor stores.
Aaron Guillen
