After nearly hitting their fundraising goal, organizers of the Silicon Valley Walk to End Alzheimer’s figured it was time for a beer.
The October walk at San Jose’s Excite Ballpark raised $1,545,870 for the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, just shy of its $1.6 million goal. To close the gap, Deb Anderson, senior director of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, approached her friends in the craft beer community for help.
Two brewers stepped up to create beers for the cause. Andy Crocker, head brewer for Original Pattern in Oakland, is making a West Coast pale ale called Memory Lane, while Matt Hartenstein, owner of Taplands in Santa Clara, is brewing a hazy version called Gap to Goal. Both brewers aim to have their beers ready for the Alzheimer’s Association’s Dec. 4 volunteer appreciation party at Taplands, after which proceeds from both beers will go to the nonprofit.
Anderson, a Cambrian area resident, says there’s a secondary goal to getting the fundraising beers on the market.
“We’re raising awareness so people know about the Alzheimer’s Association,” she says.
Of the more than 600 Walks to End Alzheimer’s across the country, Anderson adds, the Silicon Valley event is the fundraising leader.
For Original Pattern, Memory Lane follows a tradition of brewing beers for a cause, although it marks the first time they’ve done so since COVID-19 hit.
“Before the pandemic, we were doing quarterly fundraisers,” says Willow Glen resident Virginia Vaughn, Original Pattern’s sales manager for the South Bay and Peninsula. “It’s usually something that’s near and dear to someone on staff.”
Memory Lane—in cans with labels in the Alzheimer’s Association’s signature purple—will retail for $15.99, while Gap to Goal will be on tap at Taplands, 1171 Homestead Road in Santa Clara.
Article published in San Jose Mercury News - https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/12/01/local-brewers-create-beer-to-benefit-alzheimers-association/