When he first heard the phrase “Beer will change the world,” Canoga Park brewer Bryan Olson laughed. But as he and countless other brewers—domestic and international— unite to support Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts through WeLoveLA, he fully believes in the power of this hoppy beverage.

On January 10, Common Space Brewery in Hawthorne launched WeLoveLA, a fundraising network of breweries using their beer to help with wildfire relief.

So far, there are 194 participants; 141 are California breweries, 48 are from out of state and five are international (Japan, the Philippines, Australia), according to Kushal Hall, director of operations and founding team member of Common Space Brewery. There’s even a California winery and a homebrew club.

Each one offers its own WeLoveLA beer or wine. Designated proceeds are primarily earmarked for the United Way of Greater LA’s Wildfire Response Fund, says Hall. The fund supports “low-income individuals whose livelihood has been disrupted, people experiencing homelessness and those who provide services to support them, and disruptions to community organizations and small businesses.”

Participants have committed $346,579.16 to the campaign, says Hall.

“The support of all breweries—in the state, across state lines and internationally— makes it feel like everyone is rallying around LA,” says Olson, who co-owns 8one8 Brewing with his cousin, Derrick Olson. “This is a tragedy that brings people together. Seeing the response, it shows we all share common ground.”

In the Greater Los Angeles area, the wildfires burned more than 40,000 acres, destroying over 12,300 structures and triggering evacuation orders or warnings for as many as 200,000 residents, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Our entire community has been impacted,” says Jackie McCombs, operations manager of Lawless Brewing Company. “Everyone knows someone [affected].”

Lawless in North Hollywood is contributing its West Coast IPA to the WeLoveLA campaign.

“We wanted to honor our LA roots, so we chose the traditional beer of California,” McCombs says. They produced about 400 gallons of the “dank, modern West Coast–style IPA with strong notes of peach, papaya and some citrus and berry flavors. The malt profile is clean and bone dry.”

8one8 is pouring its Hoppy Lager, a light, crisp beer with a hoppy finish. “We decided to experiment with something new. We expanded on our knowledge of making great lagers and great IPAs and merged them with this beer. So this is a blend of those two styles—it’s a very drinkable beer,” says Olson, adding that they produced 217 gallons.

Many breweries paired their special beer with an event; 8one8 partnered with a nearby pizza shop, and Lawless organized a pub crawl to gin up support.

“We support each other and do what we can to help each other be successful because we know it’s better to have more smaller craft breweries than one big one, so we even share info and recipes; it improves the quality overall.”
—Bryan Olson

It might seem counterintuitive that would-be competitors are coming together for a shared cause, but to Olson and McCombs it’s just the nature of the industry.

“We support each other and do what we can to help each other be successful because we know it’s better to have more smaller craft breweries than one big one, so we even share info and recipes; it improves the quality overall,” says Olson. “Every brewery has unique factors to their process that make it tough to duplicate beers.”

“Beer brings people together,” says McCombs. “We’re stronger as a collective unit. When a need arises, breweries are up to the challenge.”

WeLoveLA beers are sold on tap, in bottles or cans at each participating location. Along with the contributions of participating breweries, 24 suppliers are donating or discounting
materials for the cause.

California muralist Priscilla Witte is donating her time and designs to produce merch for WeLoveLA.
Not a beer drinker?

Many of the participating breweries offer alternatives, such as wine, alcoholic slushies and nonalcoholic beverages. Donations can also be made directly on the United Way of Greater Los Angeles website. Donors are encouraged to type “WE LOVE LA” in the dedication notes.

While there is no sunset date for the project, the plan is for all the beers to be released by early May. “We are exploring the idea of a fundraising beer festival in the fall to continue raising funds for those affected by the wildfires,” says Hall.

We’ll raise a glass to that.

Learn more at WeLoveLABeer.com.

Donations can be made at UnitedWayLA.org/ways-to-help/give/we-love-la.

Stats are as reported on April 2, 2025.