Swindon Welcomes Ukraine and the Hop Kettle are producing a new Ukrainian-inspired beer to raise funds for their projects and for the Ukrainian aid charities they support. 

The beer will be released on Friday, February 24, which will mark a full year since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine first started when Russian troops invaded. 

As hundreds of thousands began to flee the war, the UK government quickly set up a Homes for Ukraine Scheme, which saw citizens of the UK offer their spare rooms to Ukrainians under a sponsorship scheme. 

To date over 350 Ukrainians have arrived in the Borough of Swindon and over 120 people have become hosts of those individuals or families. 

Sofiia Volovyk, committee chair said, “it’s been so rewarding to support hosts and Ukrainians now living together. There is still a huge demand for more hosts to come forward and help even more Ukrainians looking to find refuge in the UK.” 

The Swindon Welcomes Ukraine committee, made up of both Ukrainians and also hosts, has been running various projects to support the growing Ukrainian community. The committee works closely with Swindon Borough Council’s Warm Welcome team which supports the Ukrainians' most immediate needs. 

Ukraine has a large beer brewing industry as they grow a lot of hops. This first batch with Hop Kettle has used flavours of honey in the brew (a national flavour), and also sunflower (seeds), which have become a symbol for Ukrainians. 

Andrew Fisher from the Hop Kettle said: “we wanted to do our bit to help the growing community of Ukrainians in Swindon feel welcome, and our small microbrewery at the back of the Tap & Brew in Old Town was perfect for this first small batch brew.

"If this goes down well, we will lean to our bigger Hop Kettle brewery in Cheney Manor to produce a larger batch we can sell on a wider scale to help raise funds.” 

The first brew is being launched at a “first pour” event on Friday, February 24 at 6pm at the Tap & Brew on Devizes Road in Old Town. Proceeds from each pint will go to Swindon Welcomes Ukraines activities, and donations will also be made to Ukrainian aid charities. 

The beer will be called “Volya”, which means “Freedom" in Ukrainian, and whose letters appear on the trident symbol on the flag of Ukraine.

You can find out more about the committee’s work at www.ukraineswindon.com