CCB Brews Ales for ALS 2021
Cigar City Brewing is proud to once again participate in the Ales for ALS campaign, a national fundraising project created in 2013 by a Washington State hop farming family to raise funds and awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The 2021 version of CCB’s Ales for ALS will be available on draft exclusively in the Spruce Street Taproom for a limited time beginning Monday, July 12th.
Each year, Loftus Ranches of Yakima, WA and Yakima Chief Hops donate a unique hop blend developed by master brewers to hand-selected breweries across the country and grant these brewers latitude to create any recipe that will showcase that year’s hop blend. Whatever the recipe, all breweries participating in the Ales for ALS initiative donate a portion of the proceeds from their Ales for ALS beer directly to the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI). Brewing beer and raising money for a good cause; what’s not to love?
“Mike and Patrick Smith are third and fourth generation hop farmers at Loftus, one of our favorite hop farms in Washington’s Yakima Valley,” said CCB Brewmaster Wayne Wambles. “Knowing that their family had been impacted by ALS, when we were asked to participate in a project that raised money for ALS research in hopes of finding a cure, we gladly accepted!”
Since 2014, Cigar City Brewing has brewed half a dozen beers in support of Ales for ALS. Each year’s Ales for ALS recipe presents the brewers of CCB with an opportunity to build a recipe around a blend of hops, rather than selecting hops based on a recipe formulation. Previous CCB Ales for ALS beers include a Session IPA brewed in 2016, a Tropical Bock brewed in 2017, and a Juicy IPA in 2019.
Fans of Cigar City Brewing look forward to each year’s Ales for ALS recipe, an excitement shared by Mike and Patrick Smith. “When we see Mike and Patrick each year at Loftus Farms during hop harvest, they are kind enough to remember us and thank us for our participation in the Ales For ALS project. We’re proud to raise a pint of our Ales for ALS beer for this worthy cause,” said Wambles.
The 2021 version of CCB’s Ales for ALS is a bold Double IPA that utilizes two different kveik yeast strains, Spanish Cedar spirals, and the 2021 Ales for ALS Hop Blend #2, consisting of HBC 630, Mosaic, Loral, Ekuanot, Simcoe, Citra, Sabro, and Ahtanum hops. It boasts the body and fermentation profile of a modern Double IPA, the fruit-forward hop profile of a Hazy IPA, and the woody spice found in our Spanish Cedar Jai Alai IPA. Citrus-forward and textured on the palate, flavors recalling passionfruit, coconut, grapefruit zest, and sandalwood find counterpoint in woody tannins, an herbaceous bitterness, and assertive carbonation. Bold, complex, and textured, our 2021 Ales for ALS Double IPA serves as the perfect vehicle to showcase this unique hop blend and to help raise awareness and funds to find a cure for ALS.
For more information and to donate to this fantastic organization, go to https://a4a.als.net/.