In an interview with The Portugal News, those who are looking for new solutions for the oceans share their ambitious plans.

Beer for the oceans

Gonçalo Cidoncha is part of the Ocean Beer team https://oceanbeer.com/, beers whose sales values ​​revert to the oceans and their preservation. The Portuguese beer brand was born in 2020, “with the creation of Ocean Born Foundation”, a non-profit foundation, in which “100 percent of profits go to the conservation of the oceans”.


For the public, four beers can be purchased. Among the varieties available there are IPA, Lager, Gourmet and alcohol-free. Each of the beers has different characteristics. The IPA, according to Gonçalo Cidoncha, “has a slight touch of passion fruit”, giving it a greater intensity of flavour, when compared to lager, “which is more neutral in flavour.”


Presence at UN Ocean Conference

The United Nations Ocean Conference was the launch pad for beer. Being the only beer at the event, thousands of people were able to get to know a little more about Ocean Beer. Gonçalo Cidoncha admitted emotionally that the experience was “quite pleasant.” Being a place with several people present, the concern for the cause was common and reciprocal, making it the “ideal place” to showcase the beer. The event was also a way of promoting the brand both nationally and internationally.

Like its cause, the production of beer is also “environmentally friendly”, and the waste of water hardly happens during the process. There are no “preservatives or stabilisers” in the drink, making Ocean Beer a “natural, vegan and all sustainable beer.”


Environmental causes

Profits, as mentioned earlier, go towards preserving the oceans. Gonçalo Cidoncha mentioned that there are several projects for which Ocean Beer raises funds. Among them are the monitoring of dolphins, as well as capital being invested in the development of “a technology for the use of wind energy on boats”, to replace fossil energy. To carry out their work, the Ocean Beer team always seeks to be close to those who strive for the well-being of everything the ocean implies. In total, “about €155,000 have already been invested in sustainability projects.” The foundation also often supports beach clean-ups, carried out by volunteers.

The brand, which has been in existence for less than two years, is already making its mark in other countries, with internationalisation being one of the goals of Gonçalo and his team. The ideal would be to be present “in all places in Europe” so that one day it will later spread its wings and expand to countries outside the European continent.

Author

Deeply in love with music and with a guilty pleasure in criminal cases, Bruno G. Santos decided to study Journalism and Communication, hoping to combine both passions into writing. The journalist is also a passionate traveller who likes to write about other cultures and discover the various hidden gems from Portugal and the world. Press card: 8463. 

Bruno G. Santos