Business on a Mission: BarrelHouse Brewing Co. and Clean Water

The Carvalhos of BarrelHouse Brewing Co. have been dedicated to philanthropy since their early days operating out of a garage in 2012. Today, the business is booming with three locations and a reputation for great live music, a family-friendly atmosphere, and of course, small batch craft beer. Through it all, the Carvalho family continues to give generously.

Co-owner Jason Carvalho and his wife, Rebekah, give to a range of causes, including local elementary schools, military and first responder organizations, and clean water.

This year makes the fourth year in a row that BarrelHouse Brewing Co. has donated their Paso Robles location and beer for hundreds to Lifewater’s Outpour: A Night for Clean Water event.

In total, the premier event (and Barrelhouse’s additional direct contributions to Lifewater) have served nearly 10,000 people in remote parts of Africa with lasting safe water, improved health, and hope.

Jason and Rebekah are this year’s Honorary Chairpersons of Outpour, a position that recognizes their continued support for safe water around the globe. According to Jason, partnering with Lifewater years ago was a natural decision.

“Our core values at BarrelHouse and us being Christian owners, there’s a lot of synergy and appreciation for aligning ourselves with a company like Lifewater,” Jason said.

The brewery prides itself on being family-owned and family friendly. The community-based work that Lifewater does mimics these family-first values at every BarrelHouse location. As a kindergarten teacher, Rebekah Carvalho appreciates that Lifewater’s work ultimately seeks to serve the globe’s youngest children.

According to Jason, seeing the impact of their gifts makes every Outpour event and personal contributions worth it.

“We really enjoyed how we can see the impact of helping out right away,” he said. “‘This is the well, this is where it is, and this is a picture of the community.’”

“It’s quantifiable,” he added. “Boom! Here are the results of all your guys’ hard work.”

In addition to this real-time impact, BarrelHouse’s business runs on water and relies on sanitation.

“We’re always talking about water chemistry and water profile,” he said. “We spend 75-80 percent of the day just sanitizing and cleaning things, and we use water for that.”

“Without water we couldn’t run our business at all,” he added.

This realization helped develop a passion in Jason to provide safe water for families living in extreme poverty. As a full-time business owner, husband, and father, Jason isn’t able to travel to help those in need. He does, however, have the resources, space, and connections to make lasting change possible. For other businesses considering philanthropy, Jason advised finding something that aligns with their personal and professional values.

“Giving back is not the most convenient thing, and it doesn’t come without sacrifice; but, I think that it’s important and rewarding,” he said. “Find something that you can be passionate about, something that’s a good fit for your business.”

Today, children and their families in the world’s remote communities drink safe water and thrive because of the generosity of the Carvalhos and BarrelHouse Brewing Company.