Moab nonprofit, Proper Brewing release Upheaval Dome beer statewide, fund park projects

Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks teamed with Salt Lake City’s Proper Brewing to release a canned beer inspired by Upheaval Dome, deliberately brewed at a higher ABV so it could be sold through Utah’s state liquor stores and reach customers statewide. The first public tasting took place at FOACP’s Pints for Parks fundraiser at Swanny Park on March 6, where the beer, months in the making, was poured for attendees.

Proper Brewing will push the Upheaval Dome cans beyond its taprooms by making them available through the state store system and by taking orders from local restaurants and bars. The higher alcohol content was a strategic choice because Utah state stores handle retail sales of beer above 5% ABV; “That allows us to get it in front of more customers across Utah, not just within Proper venues,” said Evers, who spoke about the distribution plan.

Financially the partnership is straightforward: FOACP will receive 7% of the proceeds from each can sold. Those dollars are earmarked for roughly 20 park projects and programs this year, FOACP leaders said at the Swanny Park event. Named targets include removing barbed wire fencing in Arches National Park to improve wildlife movement, replacing ranger housing, and funding programs for local and regional youth. FOACP also highlighted Rescue-1, a truck the friends group funded and showcased by the National Park Service during the fundraiser.

Pints for Parks on March 6 combined music, updates, and volunteer outreach. The Spoonful Duo with David Lawrence provided live music, food and drinks were available, and National Park Service Southeast Utah Group Superintendent Lena Pace addressed the crowd. Attendees could sign up for volunteer projects in Arches, Canyonlands, Natural Bridges, and Hovenweep, and non-alcoholic beverages and mocktails were offered alongside the beer tasting.

The collaboration taps into FOACP’s multi-decade roots in southeast Utah stewardship. Bates Wilson, superintendent of Arches National Monument from 1949 to 1972 and the first superintendent of Canyonlands in 1964, laid groundwork that Tug Wilson later built on when he founded FOACP in 2007. FOACP became a 501(c)(3) in 2010; the group’s stated mission is “To connect people to places in ways that continues Bates Wilson’s values of exploration, collaboration, and stewardship of Southeast Utah National Parks and Monuments.” FOACP’s Youth Works in the Parks program brings underserved Salt Lake City high school students into the parks for outdoor education, service projects, and exposure to land-management careers.

FOACP and Proper Brewing said the Upheaval Dome can is just the start: the partners plan a second specialty beer release this fall at Proper’s Salt Lake City venue, with proceeds continuing to fund projects across the Southeast Utah parks.