ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – If you like beer and enjoy visiting our local breweries, you’re already on your way to helping those impacted by the fires and floods in Ruidoso.

Ex Novo Brewing Company has always had the philanthropic spirit, investing in causes near and far.

“Drink beer do good like I said is more of an ethos,” said James Gregory, a sales manager with Ex Novo Brewing Company. “In the community, and globally, we try to reach out and do good when we can.”

Gregory says they’re about to brew something up that hits close to home, and it all starts with Downshift Brewing Company in Ruidoso.

“One thing that’s been great is the number of ordinary people doing extraordinary things through this,” said Eddie Gutierrez and Shelby Rist, co-founder of Downshift Brewery.

Downshift Brewery is a staple of the community that has been through so much. 

“I evacuated we have two little kids and I evacuated to a friend’s house in Roswell who became a friend only because they were regulars that we met through our brewery,” said Rist.

From one natural disaster to another for some with each day can bring a new threat or challenge. 

“Everybody in this town has like a low level anxiety, PTSD right now because you have alerts going off on the phone constantly for flash floods and stuff,” said Rist.  

But they’re not sitting back. Instead, they’re inviting brewers from the region to brew a batch of their popular Kolsch “Collective Good.”

“Lets stick with Collective Good, let’s share the recipe with all of our fellow brewers, let’s see what we can do here in terms of raising money and awareness,” said Gutierrez.

All the money from that beer will go back to the victims of Ruidoso’s fires and floods. Ex Novo even plans to can it and sell it in stores.  

“It is good to get to do something, especially for New Mexico, that is on a bigger scale than we typically do. Hopefully, affect some people’s lives positively,” said Gregory.

Gregory says through all their partnerships over the years, helping people here at home is the most rewarding. 

“You realize how many peoples lives are just so much more affected that live there and your heart really goes out to those people,” said Gregory. 

So far, nearly a dozen breweries from Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Moriarty, and El Paso have committed to brewing Collective Good and donating the proceeds. 

Downshift plans to share the recipe in early August, meaning those beers should be ready in taprooms in September or October.