Beer aims to raise awareness for manta rays

The pale ale from the Bargara Brewing Company is a collaboration with Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort and Project Manta.

Queensland-based Bargara Brewing Company’s new extra pale ale, Ray XPA, will draw attention to the approximately 900 manta rays in the waters surrounding the neighbouring Lady Elliot Island.

The island was named one of the top five places to scuba dive with manta rays and has even been endorsed by David Attenborough.

Ray XPA will be available from 2 February in most Dan Murphy’s supermarkets in Queensland and other selected stores. The extra pale ale is a new world style beer with notes of grapefruit, honeydew melon and kafir lime.

The label, showing a lone manta ray, hopes to be a call to action for drinkers to help protect the Great Barrier Reef. Each bottle encourages beer enthusiasts to get behind Project Manta, a citizen scientist project which tracks the population of manta rays in Australia.

Jack Milbank, CEO of Bargara Brewing Company, said: “By getting an amazing beer into the hands of thousands of local and international consumers that raises awareness of our pristine, yet delicate reef and the sealife that depend on and call it home, it is very powerful”.