Brookies For Brookies NYC Launch Party: Beer, Art & Trout Conservation

Event Goal/Concept: Celebrate the launch of new Native Brook Trout Conservation initiative “Bookies For Brookies”. West K*ll Brewing and Trout Unlimited collaborate to protect New York’s State Fish.

✨ What to Expect:

🍺 Free Ice-cold Brookie Lager from West K*ll Brewing

🎤 Presentation by Jesse Vadala, Engagement Coordinator for TU, on their current initiatives.

🎨 Live painting and raffle with Catskill artist Steven Weinberg (can art illustrator)

🍴 Meats and Cheeses by Marbled and refreshing soft drinks

🌱 The Cause:

This event supports the Brookies for Brookies campaign, where 2% of all Brookie Lager sales fund habitat restoration by Trout Unlimited (TU). Together, we’re improving stream ecosystems and safeguarding the future of brook trout, whose numbers have declined due to climate change and over development.

🍺 A Beer with a Mission:

West K*ll Brewing’s iconic ‘Brookie’ American Light Lager, brewed with Native Iroquois White Corn and featuring stunning can art by Steven Weinberg, embodies the spirit of conservation and craft beer excellence.

🌊 Why It Matters:

Your participation helps fund:

• 🐟 Dam removals to reconnect fragmented habitats
• 🌲 Reintroducing wooded habitats to streams
• 🚧 Replacing outdated culverts for better aquatic passa

What is “Brookies For Brookies”?

West K*ll Brewing & Trout Unlimited recently announced the “Brookies for Brookies” campaign which amplifies the beauty of our beloved Brook Trout and raises awareness of conservation efforts to protect them and enhance their habitat by Trout Unlimited. The Eastern Brook Trout has been known to inhabit North America since the last ice age and have experienced diminishing habitat across their native range. In New York, their populations are now a fraction of what they once were, due to overdevelopment around streams and warming water directly tied to the effects of climate change.

West K*ll Brewing, located in the heart of the Northern Catskills just off the famed Devil’s Path, launched a beer called ‘Brookie’ back in 2017, a crisp and refreshing American Light Lager brewed with Native Iroquois White Corn. The iconic Brookie can art was first painted on canvas by brilliant Catskill artist and neighbor of the brewery, Steven Weinberg. Much like the Brook Trout itself, the West K*ll Brookie possesses a unique origin story and a distinctly beautiful profile that captures the heart of craft beer drinkers and trout-fishing enthusiasts around the world.

In 2024, West K*ll and Trout Unlimited forged a path to utilize 2% of all Brookie can sales from over 75 retail locations across New York, to help fund the very habitat improvement projects that are the key to protecting the eastern brook trout in New York. The program is simply called “Brookies for Brookies”. The duo of West K*ll and TU are kicking it off with a series of Winter Launch Party events in Roscoe (Trout Town, USA) and New York City, with support from the New York City Trout Unlimited chapter. Come join us at either event for some Catskill Fly Tying, Brookie Painting by Steven Weinberg, and of course… cans of ice cold Brookie graciously provided by Mike Barcone of West K*ll Brewing:

Brookies for Brookies funds will help TU focus on improving the connection of fragmented populations of brook trout by dam removals, culvert replacements, and the manual reintroduction of wooded habitat that was previously stripped from these streams by historic land manipulation and over development. So come out and join us as we tie some flies, paint some trout, and crack a few cold ones for conservation!

🎉 Come sip some brews, enjoy great food, and make a difference! Let’s celebrate conservation in style. 🍻🎨

Host or Publisher NYC Trout Unlimited