Thirty-eight brewers join the Ales for ALS campaign to fight Lou Gehrig’s disease

Beer isn’t literally the cure for what ails you, but craft brewers are joining together to aid a cause that hopes to be.  The ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) announced that 38 craft brewers across the country have joined the Ales for ALS campaign in support of ALS TDI’s mission to discover and develop effective treatments for ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig‘s disease.

Ales for ALS is a unique craft brewery-based fundraising initiative created to accelerate drug development for ALS patients today.

As part of the program, participant brewers receive a special blend of experimental hops donated by B.T. Loftus Ranches and Hopunion. From these hops, each brewer will brew a unique beer and donate a portion of the sales to ALS TDI. Target brew availability is June and July 2013.

Ales for ALS craft brewers (by location) include:

California: Beachwood BBQ, Bear Republic Brewing, Brewery at Abigaile, Coronado Brewing Co., Drakes Brewing Co., Faction Brewing Co., Iron Springs Pub & Brewery, Pizza Port Brewing Co., Russian River Brewing Co., Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Stone Brewing, Third Street Ale Works, Triple Rock Brewing Co.

Colorado: New Belgium, Odell Brewing

Connecticut: Willimantic Brewing Co.

Delaware: Dogfish Head Brewing Co.

Georgia: 5 Seasons Brewing Co.

Massachusetts: Boston Beer Co. (Samuel Adams), Cambridge Brewing Co., Harpoon Brewery, Wormtown Brewery

Missouri: Mother’s Brewing Co.

Nevada: Great Basin Brewing

New Mexico: La Cumbre Brewing Co., Marble Brewery

New York: Brooklyn Brewery, Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.

North Carolina: Front Street Brewery

Ohio: Fat Head’s Brewing Co., Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Oregon: Deschutes Brewery Public House, Full Sail Brewing Co.

Utah: Uinta Brewing Co.

Washington: Bale Breaker Brewing Co., E9 Brewing, Fremont Brewing Co., Two Beers Brewing Co.

“My family and I wanted to create a program with ALS TDI that we could lead and sustain until a treatment for ALS is in hand,” said Michael Smith, president of B.T. Loftus Ranches Inc. and ALS TDI board member.

“We’re honored to have the enthusiasm and support of hop growers, B.T. Loftus Ranches and Hopunion, and the nation’s top craft brewers in our effort to end ALS,” said Steve Perrin, chief executive officer of ALS TDI. “We thank them on behalf of patients, families and the ALS community who desperately need effective treatments and a cure for the disease.”

ALS, or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that leads to paralysis, due to the death of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain. There is no known cure for the disease. About 5,000 people in the country are diagnosed with ALS each year; the incidence is similar to multiple sclerosis. However, with no effective treatment, the average patient survives only two to five years following diagnosis. There are about 30,000 people in the U.S. diagnosed with ALS today. The worldwide population of ALS patients is estimated at 450,000.

The mission of the ALS Therapy Development Institute is to develop effective therapeutics that slow or stop ALS as soon as possible. ALS TDI executes a robust target discovery program, while simultaneously operating the world’s largest efforts to preclinically validate potential therapeutics, including a pipeline of dozens of small molecules, protein biologics, gene therapies and cell-based constructs.