Not For Sale Ale

A modern pale ale in the fight for freedom.

“We want Not For Sale Ale to produce as much positive impact as an ale and an ale brewing company possibly can. And we would like you to be part of this quest.”

- Ulf Stenerhag, Founder and CEO of Not For Sale Ale AB

The idea of Not For Sale Ale began on an island in the Finnish archipelago. Ulf Stenerhag, CEO of Thurne Teknik, an international tech trade company based in Europe, held an internal workshop to drive the development of the company culture based on the staffs personal values. The workshop culminated in the decision to delve deeper into the specific needs of the customers they support, and to assume a greater responsibility for their community outside the limits of the company.

Speakers were invited to inspire the employees to find ways to incorporate ‘doing good’ into their daily lives. Furthermore, since Thurne Teknik provides technical support to breweries, the company decided to brew its own beer to get a better understanding of their customers’ needs and passion. At that point in time, Stenerhag did not foresee or intend that the two projects would progress into one.

Stenerhag first met David Batstone, CEO and founder of the global anti-human trafficking organization Not For Sale, at Tällberg Forum in Sweden (an international forum for world leaders, executives and influential thinkers to openly exchange ideas).

Stenerhag later invited Batstone to present at the first open seminar at Thurne Teknik in Stockholm. During this visit, they started to discuss ideas for potential collaborations;

“During this conversation, it dawned on me that there was an opportunity to both train ourselves to take responsibility and to work practically with process technology by making a beer together with David’s organization. It was an easy decision for us both.” Stenerhag explains.

Inspired by the opportunity, they started to search for a partner who knew the craft of brewing. Monks Brewery was the missing link. Stenerhag and Batstone met with owner Recep Celik and the brewing master Charles Cassino who only minutes into the meeting were committed to creating a new Not For Sale Ale.

The brewing master prepared four different recipes for a panel of friends, business partners, journalists and beer experts, who selected one winning recipe to become the first Not For Sale Ale in Europe. Just days after the first bottles had been filled, Not For Sale Ale was served at the Swedish Royal Palace during Batstone’s speech at the Young Leadership Conference 2014.

After having served Not For Sale Ale at TEDx Almedalen and at some big conferences during the summer, the potential commercial success was apparent and the company Not For Sale Ale AB was born – just months after the first brew. Creating Not For Sale Ale has brought together stakeholders in a new unique way to address the issue of human trafficking. Every week, companies, organizations, as well as individuals have offered their support to scale the Not For Sale Ale project to become a global success and a model for social impact. The purpose of the project is to raise funds for Not For Sale’s work around the world, and educate consumers about the existence of modern slavery in the 21st century. As demand scales, the hope is to also be able to support job creation in areas vulnerable to human trafficking. The story goes on, and we hope that you would like to be a part of it…