Have a Beer with Hath

Caps right wing Garnet Hathaway is set to embark upon his fourth season with the team in 2022-23. None of the previous three seasons have been "normal" ones; the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted each of those three seasons with postponements, travel and other restrictions, quarantines and routine testing. The NHL has been in a near constant state of flux for most of Hathaway's time in Washington, and the hope is that this upcoming campaign is the first without postponements and that all 32 teams can play a full 82-game schedule with no changes.

Despite the constant chaos since his arrival in the District after signing a four-year deal with the Caps in the summer of 2019, it's been all business for Hathaway on and off the ice. He has increased his point total each season since arriving, and he notched a career high 14 goals last season.
Off the ice, Hathaway and his wife Lindsay established Hath's Heroes early in his tenure here, a program designed to give back to first responders in the area. Hathaway's heritage (more on that in a bit) led him to start Hath's Heroes, and on Monday night at Other Half Brewing in D.C., Hathaway will - in conjunction with Other Half - unveil a limited-edition new beer, Hath's Hazy.
The 7.0 ABV hazy IPA will be made available for sale at a special event hosted by Hathaway and the brewery at its Ivy City location (1401 Okie St. NE, Washington, D.C., (202) 747-0050) from 7-9 pm on Monday, Oct. 3, and that's tonight.
Hathaway's foundation previously came out with Hath's Heroes apparel as a means of raising funds to help first responders and their families, but this time around he's relying on hops and the masterful work of the Other Half brewers.
"We did an apparel fundraiser with the Caps where we basically designed apparel with the Caps logo and the Hath's Heroes logo on it," says Hathaway. "We reached out to Caps fans and said, 'Hey, if you like the Caps and you like Hath's Heroes and you want to support first responders in the area - your neighbors, your DMV area - you can do both things, support your team and your community in buying our stuff and helping us do the next best thing we can for first responders.'
"And that's where we come to with the beer. You can only own so many sweatshirts, but with the beer, there was a couple of different aspects that go into it. I wanted to have an event where we could get people together; the people who support Hath's Heroes, and then the first responders themselves, and have a night where we can dedicate it to not thinking about other stuff that you go through during the day. Coming together, having some food, trying a beer."
Other Half Brewing has a spacious and welcoming indoor/outdoor establishment with plenty of seating and lots of room for walking about and mingling with friends and new acquaintances. And with fall weather upon us and a new season just over a week away, Monday promises to be a night filled with fun and fellowship.
"Hopefully people like [the beer], and I think a lot of communication and a lot of talk will happen there," says Hathaway. "We're always asking questions on what might help even more. Where can we help? How can we help? We have a platform, we have the support from the community, and we want to help, so what's the best use of that, that time and energy and funds?
"I really enjoy beer. I think the brewing process is really cool. I have always been interested in the business side of it. Obviously, Locker - Craig Laughlin - has come out with numerous beers in the DMV area and he was he was a big help in introducing me to the Other Half Brewery. They started in Brooklyn with the brewery, but they're Caps fans. They do a lot of work in the community as well, and they bring other brewers together to support the community. Especially during the pandemic, when they did a lot of great work, and we just aligned on our views, and they said, 'Hey, we really liked the cause you have. We can create an awesome beer, and we have the space for people to come and enjoy it.'
"And that's where the event comes in on Monday. Like I said, it brings Caps fans, first responders and people who want to support each other all together. On my side, it's going to be bringing in an auction, setting up a raffle, getting signed Caps gear, getting some Caps broadcasters. John Walton is going to be there, Joe Beninati, Craig Laughlin, there's going to be some other Caps alum, and hopefully some more guys will be able to make it and get people excited about the hockey season, excited about beer, and excited about supporting first responders."
As noted earlier, the desire to assist first responders is something that goes way back in Hathaway's heritage.
"My wife Lindsay and I started Hath's heroes when we got to D.C.," he says. "The Caps were amazing in helping the players to do community outreach, helping us to use our platform to support the community and give back as much as we can. And something that was close and personal to me was first responders.
"My great grandfather - who was named Garnet, and who I'm named after - was a firefighter in Winnipeg. I have uncles and great uncles that live up there now who were firefighters. And I grew up hearing stories - and they had a little different technology then - of the bravery, really what the lifestyle was like, and what it was like for his family as well, just the everyday life of it. I grew up hearing stories of that. When we got to D.C., we had an opportunity to create a charity foundation to help give back. And so being able to support the first responders was really what we wanted to focus on."
Initially, Hath's Heroes focused on getting first responders and their families to Caps games and proving them with an escape from the constant stress and chaos associated with their work. But then the pandemic came along, fans were no longer permitted to attend games for a while, and the foundation's focus shifted.
"We started with inviting first responders to games, showing them the locker room, and letting them enjoy a day away from work," says Hathaway. "It's the same with trying to get away from the hockey rink, and mentally refreshing, restarting, and rebooting yourself, and to be able to have the hockey games was hopefully refreshing. They spend most of their time with the people who are in their firehouse, and it's the same kind of relationship [as a hockey team] but in a completely different environment.
"Now we've morphed and we have pivoted. The pandemic was really tough, in trying to find out what to do, but really interesting to learn how we could have a different outreach. We couldn't have fans at the games, but the big thing about a firehouse especially is their mealtime and how much their camaraderie grows and builds, and their relationships when they're around the table eating, talking about their day, talking about anything that they just went through, and airing out what's on their mind. Opening conversations with people when they eat together, they tend to talk together and enjoy each other's company. And so that's when we teamed up with Super FD and Chef Robbie Wood there, and we got food out to them. And we got as much as we could to them, and that was because the community supported us in that in that effort. And then throughout that time, it became a matter of, how else can we help? That's still our question every day. And we fall back on food a lot, because it's a huge one."
As the saying goes, there's a sandwich in every glass of beer. But there will be actual food on hand as well, in addition to the Hath's Hazy, which again is in limited supply. In a perfect world, the beer will sell out on Monday night.
"I'll come out with a little more information about where we are with the remaining beer," says Hathaway, in the event that there's any beer left. "I know the certain amount of cases that we brewed, and I wouldn't say it's exorbitant. There's a finite amount, so once that's gone … I'd love to have the door open, but we want to sell out. We want to raise as much as we can for the first responders, but I'll definitely let people know what what's remaining in stock after Monday. Hopefully it's packed. I think it's going to be a great event. And I if you if you don't enjoy beer or you can't make it, the funds that we get from donations on our website - washingtoncaps.com/hathsheroes - will go to the same place.
"And our mission right now is to support first responders and their families in the DMV, because it's not only the first responders that that deal with a lot of the stresses and difficult aspects of their jobs, but it's their families as well. And we're really fortunate to have fans and community behind us to be able to help them have the funds to do it. We've been able to do the things we've been able to do because the community also realizes how important those first responders are for us. And they're our neighbors. They're the men and women you see at the grocery store. Their kids are playing sports with your kids. And then when they go to work, it's not in a cubicle, it's putting their life on the line and keeping us safe, basically at all times of the day, 365 days a year. We've been able to do some amazing things, and we want to continue that outreach."