The creators of a beer that was developed to raise money for research into the disease Multiple Myeloma say the first run of the beer was such a success they plan on coming out with a sequel in early 2008. The brew, Reunion – A Beer for Hope, was developed earlier this year by Pete’s Brewing Co. founder Pete Slosberg along with two of his company’s original employees, Alan M. Shapiro and Virginia MacLean, who, sadly, on June 4, 2007 succumbed to the illness.

Shapiro is the one who actually came up with the idea for Reunion, which to his knowledge is the first beer created and marketed solely to raise money to combat a disease. He says he had wanted to help out his friend MacLean in the best way he knew how. “I’m not a scientist—in fact I barely passed high school chemistry, but I do know a little about creating beers and bringing them to market,” he says.

Shapiro says between beer sales and donations, the project has raise about $55,000 for research into the disease and he expects they will hit the $60,000 mark soon. “Hopefully next year we'll get past $100K,” he adds.

The creators of a beer that was developed to raise money for research into the disease Multiple Myeloma say the first run of the beer was such a success they plan on coming out with a sequel in early 2008. The brew, Reunion - A Beer for Hope, was developed earlier this year by Pete’s Brewing Co. founder Pete Slosberg along with two of his company’s original employees, Alan M. Shapiro and Virginia MacLean, who herself was recently diagnosed with the illness

Reunion, an organic imperial brown ale with a complex malt character, was brewed by Slosberg and Dan Del
Grande at Bison Brewing Co.’s organic brewery in Berkeley, CA. The beer was based on Slosberg’s early trials for his hit Pete’s Wicked Ale. The sequel will likely be a different style, says Shapiro. “We plan on doubling or tripling production and to expand the geographic reach to most of the country,” he says.

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, more than 1,000 people a day are diagnosed with this incurable form of bone cancer. (Actor Peter Boyle, who recently passed away, and politician Geraldine Ferraro are two of the more notable persons to have been diagnosed with the disease in recent years.)

The first Reunion was sold in 22-ounce screen printed bottles via Shapiro’s SBS-Imports distributor network in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado and Illinois for a suggested retail price of $4.99 per bottle. All profits generated by SBS from the sale of Reunion benefit The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research (IMBCR) in Los Angeles, CA.

“It’s not a cancer that has a cure at the moment,” says Shapiro, “but part of the urgency is that they feel they’re understanding this cancer more and more and they’re getting very close to a cure. So much so that what we accomplish with this project and the awareness we can drive and what happens in the next year or two could really make a difference in how long Virginia lives. So there’s a real urgency to it right now.”

Reunion has been available at leading specialty beer retailers and many Kimpton hotels in the western United States. Shapiro says there is still some of the original Reunion product in the retail market, though likely not for too much longer. The last cases of the original Reunion were shipped to distributors in mid-March.

For more information on Reunion, multiple myeloma and the IMBCR: www.reunionbeer.com www.imbcr.org