Raise a Pint and Help Find Cures for ALS!
This year we've been proud to support of Ales for ALS™, a program that breweries from around the world have joined to help #EndALS by crafting great beers.
Over the past seven years, breweries such as Bell's Brewery, Faction Brewing, and Cigar City Brewing have joined the program and helped to raise money for ALS research at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI).
According to Wayne Wembles, Brewmaster at Cigar City Brewing, as the brewery began to rapidly grow in the early 2010s, their volume reached that of a regional brewery (15,000 bbls annually), allowing them to begin allocating and selecting their hops. Every year the team made a trip to Yakima to pick out hops at Loftus Farms. That's where they learned about Ales for ALS™.
"One of the Loftus family members was impacted by ALS. We were asked if we would like to participate in a project that raised money for ALS research in hopes of finding a cure one day," says Wembles. "We gladly accepted!"
In 2013, co-owners of Bale Breaker Brewing Company—Meghann Quinn, her husband Kevin Quinn, and Meghan's brother Kevin Smith (known as "Smitty")—helped start the Ales for ALS™ program with Mike and Cheryl Smith from YCH and Loftus Ranches.
Designed to raise awareness and money to find treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease), the initiative personally hit home for the Quinn and Smith family. Meghann, Smitty, and their parents have nine family members who have passed away from the disease.
There are currently no treatments for ALS and life expectancy is only three to five years. And while ALS can be devastating for the individuals and families impacted, Ales for ALS™ is proof that hops, beer, a little ingenuity, and a lot of elbow grease can help change the course of a degenerative disease. And hopefully, eventually, even lead to cures.
Tune into this week's episode of the Drinking Socially podcast as special guests Meghann Quinn and Kevin Smith share their story.
And join us again on Thursday, Aug. 5th, at 7:00 pm ET during Virtual Happy Hour as Mike Shannon, National Director for Ales for ALS™, and Claudia Pamparana, co-owner of Faction Brewing, join Hop Culture Founder Kenny Gould to chat all things Ales for ALS™.
Participating Ales for ALS™ brewers receive a unique hop blend, created and donated annually by Loftus Ranches and YCH. With the exclusive hop blend, which is provided to participating brewers at no cost, they can each craft and sell their own unique Ales for ALS™ brew.
For example, this year Cigar City brewed a Double IPA fermented with two unique kveik strains, hopped with the Ales for ALS™ Blend #2 and then infused with a Cigar City Brewing staple wood, Spanish Cedar.
"Join us in raising a pint for a worthy cause!" says Wembles.
For every pint of the Ales for ALS™ brew sold, participating brewers donate $1 to support research at ALS TDI. The funds raised are immediately invested into the lab at ALS TDI, where their science team continues to discover and develop potential treatments for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
To date, Ales for ALS™ has raised over $3.5 million dollars for ALS TDI.
Now you can help too!
HOW TO EARN THIS BADGE
This special Ales for ALS™ badge can be earned by checking in any beer from one of these participating breweries between Aug 2, 2021 - Aug 31, 2021.
Badge List:
Alameda Island Brewing Company
Collision Bend Brewing Company
Connecticut Valley Brewing Company
Gaslight Brewery and Restaurant
Keel Farms Agrarian Ale + Cider
Mountain Lakes Brewing Company
Precious Things Fermentation Project
Squirrel Fight Artisan Brewing
Urban Chestnut Brewing Company
Urban Roots Brewing & Smokehouse
White Rock Alehouse and Brewery
What are you waiting for? Go out and drink one of these special beers and help raise money for Ales for ALS™.
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