What if you could help your home planet 🌳 by simply sitting on your bum, enjoying a beer🍺? That's the good idea behind Hawke's Brewing.

Started as a crazy conversation between two mates asking each other who they'd most like to enjoy a beer with, Hawke's Brewing is not just a great beer, it's a great way to fund nature too – and one that came from Bob Hawke himself.

When asked if he would lend his likeness to a brand new brand of beer he said yes on two conditions:

☝️ First, he would earn a royalty in perpetuity.

✌️ Second, his royalty would go to Landcare – which he helped establish back in 1986 – even after he was gone.

In a world where environmental causes often struggle to find funding, it's a deft model.

The beer got instant interest, thanks to featuring a past Prime Minister and national sculling champion on the decal. And Bob got to leave a legacy for a cause he deeply cared about, creating a gift that keeps giving from beyond the grave (RIP Bob 1929-2019).

If that wasn't enough, he even chose the recipe for their first brew – and it went on to win ”Best Australian Style Lager” at the 2018 Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA), proving he was a man of wisdom and taste.

Listen in to this episode to hear:

💡 How two friends quit their job and pitched the idea to Bob

💪 What it took to turn the idea into beer

🦐 The story of the Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre which is rumoured to have the world's best prawn toast

⛅️ How they went on to invent the world's only poker machine that donates its winnings to climate

🤔 The power of asking 'what would Bob do' before making big business decisions

Huuuge thanks Dave Gibson for sharing your story and wrap your lips around some Hawke's beer at www.hawkesbrewing.com 

Want to know more? We gave AI a listen and here's what it had to say:

What if protecting habitats could fit in your hand like a cold schooner? We sit down with Dave Gibson, co-founder of Hawke’s Brewery, to unpack how a cheeky idea—have a beer with Bob Hawke—became a purpose-built business that funds Landcare Australia and brews an award-winning lager people actually love to drink.

Dave takes us from a snowed-in ad agency in New York to Bob Hawke’s kitchen table, where the former Prime Minister said yes on one condition: his entire share would go to Landcare. From there, the story gets wonderfully scrappy—contract brews, 70–80 kegs, 11 “first XI” pubs, and a debut lager that won Australia’s best in its first year. We explore the mechanics behind the mission: how Hawke’s chooses projects across the country, from mangrove restoration in Queensland to pygmy possum habitats in South Australia and local river work with the Mudcrabs on Sydney’s Cooks River.

This conversation goes deep on building a sustainable brewery the hard way: installing the largest solar array on a city brewery, partnering on carbon recapture that grows fresh produce, and making costly decisions that align with the brand’s values. Dave shares candid lessons on raising capital, choosing investors who value purpose, and hiring people who treat the company like it’s their own. We also lean into the fun—why a Chinese restaurant belongs in a brewery, how a custom pokie machine donates every play to climate projects, and how joy helps audiences engage with serious environmental issues without the finger-wagging.

If you care about purpose-led business, brand authenticity, Australian beer culture, or practical ways to support biodiversity with everyda

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