Once upon a time, Pete Slosberg created Pete’s Wicked Ale. And the brown ale was good. He had help spreading the word, of course, and in the early days Alan Shapiro and Virginia MacLean also helped Pete’s become a nationally known microbrewery. Pete, of course, moved on to chocolate and Alan Shapiro worked for a time with Merchant Du Vin and now heads his own import company, SBS Imports. Virginia MacLean, in the meantime, left the beer business but as she approached her fortieth birthday was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, which is a type of bone cancer that currently has no known cure. For more information about the disease, see the MMRF or the Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research.

Recently, Pete Slosberg and Alan Shapiro got together and decided to help their friend by creating a new beer to help raise awareness and money to fund research into this disease. The beer is named “Reunion,” and it’s a big, imperial brown ale and is the first commercial beer Slosberg has done since selling Pete’s Wicked Ale to Gambrinus in 1998. He worked with award-winning brewer Daniel Del Grande at Bison Brewing in creating the organic beer. In the Bay Area, Beverages & more and Whole Foods will be carrying the beer. Please support this worthy cause and buy a bottle or a case.

The press release:

INTRODUCING REUNION
A BEER FOR HOPE UNIQUE COLLABORATION TO BENEFIT
THE INSTITUTE FOR MYELOMA & BONE CANCER RESEARCH

In the early days of the craft brewing business in the U.S. Pete Slosberg brought Alan Shapiro and Virginia MacLean to help lead his emerging namesake company and take his Wicked Ale® to new heights. While these long-time friends ultimately pursued different professional paths, some 18 years later they have reunited to create a beer inspired by Pete’s early recipes.

REUNION – A BEER FOR HOPE is an organic imperial brown ale brewed by Pete and Dan Del Grande at Bison Brewing Company’s organic brewery in Berkeley, CA. It will be sold in 22 ounce screen printed bottles via Shapiro’s SBS Imports distributor network in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, and Illinois. It has a suggested price of $4.99 per bottle. All profits generated by SBS from the sale of REUNION will benefit The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research in Los Angeles, CA. “Alan informed me that our good friend Virginia had been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma — a form of bone cancer,” Pete Slosberg recalled. “He later called with the idea of reuniting to create a beer to celebrate our friendship and bring hope to Virginia and others battling this disease. I am thrilled to be a part of the effort to raise funds for this worthwhile organization.”

“Virginia has been a close friend from the day we met at Pete’s back in 1989,” noted SBS Imports President, Alan Shapiro. “I wish I was a great scientist who could help find a cure — but at least I can make a small contribution by raising both funds and awareness for this disease. I have met Dr. Berenson’s team at IMBCR and have seen their work in progress. I know the funds we raise will help make a difference.”

About Multiple Myeloma & IMBCR:

Multiple Myeloma is a unique cancer of plasma cells that attacks and destroys bone. The term is derived from the multiple areas of bone marrow that are usually affected by the disease. Worldwide, over 1,000 people a day are diagnosed with this currently incurable form of bone cancer. Led by Dr. James Berenson, IMBCR is one of the world’s leading research organizations combating this disease. IMBCR specializes in developing novel chemotherapy drugs and treatments. For further information on multiple myeloma or IMBCR, please visit www.imbcr.org or contact 310-623-1210.

About the Beer:

REUNION is a collaborative beer created by Pete Slosberg & Dan Del Grande and inspired by Pete’s original recipe. It is brewed with 6 different organic malts, 3 different hops and dryhopped. It is 7.5% alcohol by volume. REUNION will be available at leading specialty beer retailers and many Kimpton hotels in the western United States. More information is available at www.reunionbeer.com.

The back label: