Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City unveiled its new beer, Fruitfully Just, during a Thursday evening launch event. Proceeds will benefit Iowa Legal Aid.
Iowa Legal Aid, founded in 1977, is a nonprofit organization offering free civil legal assistance and representation to low-income Iowans.
Nick Smithberg, executive director of Iowa Legal Aid, said the nonprofit is the only statewide provider of legal assistance for civil cases, which deal with disputes like housing and family law rather than criminal cases.
Smithberg explained that while the Constitution guarantees defendants the right to an attorney in criminal cases, no such right exists in civil cases.
“Whether that’s an eviction proceeding or a domestic violence case where a survivor is seeking an order of protection, in all of those types of cases, people will go into the legal system without representation,” Smithberg said. “And it is not a system that is designed for people who are not lawyers.”
Iowa Legal Aid provided statistics showing that the organization handled nearly 17,000 cases in 2023, providing aid to over 40,000 Iowans. Smithberg said that as a nonprofit, Iowa Legal Aid relies on various funding initiatives to operate.
The organization applied for Big Grove Brewery’s annual “Big Grove for Good” grant, which led the brewery to propose using the Fruitfully Just beer as a fundraising effort.
“They suggested that maybe a different idea would be for them to sponsor a beer,” Smithberg said. “That’s certainly not something we had thought about previously, but it’s a great way to get people thinking about the work that we do and attract their interest in a different way.”
Mikala Demet, community and project manager for Big Grove Brewery, said Fruitfully Just was originally created last year in partnership with another organization. When Iowa Legal Aid reached out, she said, the collaboration felt like a perfect fit, as the beer’s name reflects Iowa Legal Aid’s work to promote equitable justice.
“Their whole mission and vision really aligned with what we wanted the beer to be, and the story and narrative for the beer,” Demet said.
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Demet explained that Big Grove Brewery is donating $10,000 — the projected profits for the Fruitfully Just beer — to Iowa Legal Aid. Thursday’s event launch was hosted to bring more awareness to the organization.
“Not only is it a donation, but putting on an event, helping them get people out talking about Iowa Legal Aid, answering questions, and just them getting to advocate for their mission and us supporting them in that,” Demet said.
On Tuesday evening, a similar event was hosted at the Big Grove Brewery location in Des Moines, Iowa.
“It was well attended and quite fun,” Smithberg said of the Des Moines event. “And very excited to be coming to Iowa City.”
According to its website, giving back to Iowa communities is central to the mission of Big Grove Brewery. Demet said the brewery — which has four locations in Solon, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and Des Moines — has donated approximately $200,000 to 150 organizations in 2024.
“We can’t do it without Big Grove being successful,” Demet said, referring to the charitable initiatives. “So that’s why we want to give back to the community because they support us, so we want to support the communities we’re in.”
The Thursday event offered complimentary 7-ounce samples of Fruitfully Just, free food, and information about Iowa Legal Aid displayed throughout the venue.
Maggie Dressel, an Iowa City resident in attendance, praised the beer and the initiative.
“It’s delicious,” Dressel said, sampling Fruitfully Just. “[Iowa Legal Aid] is a great organization, and our state is lucky to have it.”