This Beer Company Wants People to Take Care of Themselves — and Will Pay You to Do It

Drinking beer may not be the healthiest activity, but one Chicago-based brewery is rejecting that idea — and even wants to pay people to take care of themselves and make healthy lifestyle changes.

The Goose Island Beer Company will pay 10 people a total of $9,800 each if they make small, realistic changes, like buying a treadmill to increase their daily steps or paying off a student loan (because nothing causes stress quite like student debt). The promotion coincides with the beer company’s new, 98-calorie IPA, So-Lo.

“We’re excited to support those in our community looking to make positive changes,” Todd Ahsmann, the president of Goose Island Beer Co., said in an email, adding that his own recent weight loss made it clear that “in order to make lasting, positive change, the first step is to identify realistic, manageable goals.”

Ahsmann said the company wants people to “visit your grandma more frequently or invest in your local neighborhood.” He added, “We're here to support you and hope it makes a significant difference in your life and in your community.”

To enter, beer lovers (21 and older) can write in on Feb. 4 to say how they will use the money — in 98 words or less — or go to the Goose Island Taproom at 1800 W Fulton St. in Chicago on Feb. 8 to share their small change — in 98 seconds or less, of course.

Contest winners will be contacted on Feb. 21, according to the company.

The contest was inspired by the company’s new lower calorie beer, which Quinn Fuechsl, a brewer at Goose Island, came up with after becoming a new dad.

Fuechsl said in an email that he “wanted to make some small changes toward a healthier life,” and creating a low calorie beer — a first for Goose Island — was one way to do that.

“It’s awesome to see [that] we’re taking the small-change mentality even further into our community,” he added.