West Pacific leatherback sea turtles make an epic journey each year wandering across the entire Pacific Ocean from their nesting beaches in places like Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu all the way to the Central California Coast to feed on the abundant jellyfish. It is this journey that has inspired the new limited release “Wanderer Double IPA” at Carmel Craft Brewing Company. Carmel Craft and Upwell recently teamed up to raise local awareness and funds for Pacific leatherback sea turtles with an official launch party at their brewery on December 10th.

This family-friendly event featured music from the band Out of the Blue, a kids’ pizza making activity at Allegro’s Pizzeria next door, a silent auction, and of course, great beer by Carmel Craft Brewing Company. Silent auction items were generously donated by Patagonia, REI, Blue Ocean Whale Watch, Adventures by the Sea and Trader Joe’s. Proceeds from the kids’ pizza activity and a portion of the proceeds from beer sales went to support Upwell’s work to protect endangered sea turtles like the Pacific leatherback from threats out at sea.

Right here on the Central California Coast Upwell is partnering with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to satellite tag and track West Pacific leatherbacks on their epic migration. Dr. George Shillinger from Upwell and Scott Benson from NOAA gave an overview of the importance of this work. This year the team was able to tag a record number of leatherbacks, and those six turtles have already begun their long journey back to their nesting beaches on the other side of the Pacific. The tags will remain active for over a year and will provide vital information on their habitat, which will help mitigate threats at sea such as fisheries bycatch.

Don’t worry if you missed this event, there is still time to try the limited release Wanderer Double IPA at Carmel Craft Brewing Company and support sea turtle conservation. Upwell is grateful to Carmel Craft, Allegro’s Pizzeria and all our sponsors and guests who helped make this event a success!