Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Odell Brewing Company’s generous donation to study the Hops Blue butterfly

On a snowy evening in early December 2013, the Colorado Natural Heritage Program enjoyed beer with Odell Brewing Company (OBC) to celebrate the fruition of the Celastrina Saison collaboration. In May 2013, OBC generously agreed to brew a beer in recognition of a rare Colorado butterfly, the Hops Blue (Celastrina humulus).  This butterfly is only found along the Front Range of Colorado and its host plant is wild hops.  After enjoying beer and snacks, OBC’s Outreach Coordinator Karla Baise surprised everyone by presenting a check for $12,000 to CNHP.  This amount represents $1 for every bottle of Celastrina Saison sold, which is a testament to the popularity of this excellent beer and the incredible support throughout the beer-drinking and conservation community.  CNHP has begun recruiting honors undergraduate researchers to aid in conservation research on the Hops Blue.

: Rob Schorr, Karla Baise, and Dave Anderson with the generous donation from 
Odell Brewing Company.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Celebrating Celastrina Saison at the Butterfly Pavilion

Kellan Barr of The Butterfly Pavilion and Rob Schorr
at The Butterfly Pavilion’s Living Lights Celebration.

The Butterfly Pavilion is hosting their annual Living Lights holiday celebration that allows access to the many invertebrate displays at night while the grounds are lit in fantastical lighting. The event highlights those creatures that produce light for communication, defense, or navigation. Rob Schorr of CNHP was there to celebrate with The Butterfly Pavilion, and brought an Odell Brewing Company beer that recognizes a rare Colorado invertebrate, the Hops Blue butterfly. This small blue butterfly is only found from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs in areas where wild hops are abundant. The Butterfly Pavilion asked Schorr and Odell Brewing Company to participate in the Living Lights celebration to highlight the unique collaboration between CNHP and Odell that spawned Celastrina Saison, a lightly-hoppy farmhouse ale with hints of clove. In 2012, Schorr proposed the idea of a beer to honor this butterfly, and Odell Brewing Company eagerly developed Celastrina Saison and donated $1 for every bottle sold to CNHP to conduct research on the butterfly.

The grounds at The Butterfly Pavilion during Living Lights Celebration.