Beer Cares: Brooke Malone Takes a Shot at Saving the Lagoon with Gilded Kilroy IPA

Brooke Malone has never been one to sit still — especially not when the Indian River Lagoon is in trouble. So she did what any no-nonsense, lagoon-loving brewery co-founder would do: she put the mission in a can.

Gilded Kilroy, the new hazy IPA from Walking Tree Brewery, is Brooke’s latest move in the fight for clean water. It’s named after ORCA’s Kilroy water sensors (yes, like the WWII graffiti — more on that in a second), and it’s raising cash for real-time water monitoring. So far in 2025? Over $4,000 and counting.

Each can links to live ORCA data because Brooke doesn’t just want beer connoisseurs — she wants to cultivate citizen scientists. People who actually know (and care) what’s floating around out there.

Now, about that name: “Kilroy was here” was the go-to scribble for American GIs in World War II — a cartoon face with a long nose peeking over a wall. No one’s totally sure who started it, but it went global — scrawled on ships, bunkers, bathroom stalls, and wherever troops landed. It was a simple message: Someone’s been here. Someone’s watching.

That’s the correlation – ORCA’s modern-day Kilroy sensors are quietly monitoring pollution in the lagoon 24/7. And the Gilded Kilroy can? It’s a nod to the past, but firmly planted in the now. Kilroy’s still watching.

“Kilroy was everywhere,” Brooke says. “So now he’s in the lagoon. And he brought beer.”

Brooke credits Dr. Edie Widder, founder of ORCA and a deep-sea biologist known for her groundbreaking conservation work, as a major inspiration. "She's absolutely the queen," Brooke says. "She's doing the science that actually helps us fix things. We're just trying to support that however we can."

Edie Widder, Founder of ORCA

And of course, none of this would hit the tap without Mike Malone, Brooke’s husband and Walking Tree’s head brewer. He’s the brains behind the flavor and the co-founder behind the scenes — making sure that while the beer does good, it still tastes great.

The beer is part of Walking Tree’s annual IPAs for Waterways campaign, alongside their Mangrove Series — bold, Florida-forward beers with roots in local ecosystems.

And when it comes to protecting the lagoon, Brooke isn’t just talking the talk. At home, her yard is fully native landscaped, no turf grass in sight. It’s better for the water, the wildlife, and the big picture.

Because, as she says:  “Your perfect lawn is perfectly wrong for the lagoon. Seriously — pull it up, plant some wildflowers, and have a beer.”

For more information, visit ORCA at www.teamorca.org

Never miss a Vero Minute.

Visit The Week Ahead for upcoming events.