Malden Brewery To Release Beer For ALS Research

MALDEN, MA — Idle Hands Craft Ales will release its fourth beer in collaboration with the Ales for ALS program.

The brewery will unveil its New England IPA called Kevin at a release part on Wednesday, Aug. 4. The beer is named after Kevin Lynch, the brother-in-law of Idle Hands co-founder Grace Tkach, who passed away last April after a four-year battle with ALS.

Each year, brewers from across the country gather together at Yakima Chief Hops in Washington and create a blend of hops to be used in the Ales for ALS program. These hops are then given to breweries who commit to donating $1 per pint sold to the ALS Therapy Development Institute.

Idle Hands has elected to donate 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of Kevin to the Institute.

"We started participating in the Ales for ALS program when Kevin was originally diagnosed," said Chris Tkach, owner of Idle Hands. "We felt it was only right that, although Kevin is gone, we honor his memory and continue to build awareness about and support ways to fight this awful disease any way that we can."

To help commemorate Kevin’s life and the brewery’s involvement in the Ales for ALS program, Idle Hands is hosting a special release party on Wednesday, Aug. 4, starting at 5 p.m. in the Idle Hands taproom in Malden.

A $25 ticket price ensures a small donation to the ALS Therapy Development Institute, and gets customers their first beer of the evening and a Philly cheese steak from Odyssey’s Hot Dogs, a locally-based food truck. The food is another nod to Kevin, who was born and raised in South Philadelphia.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at shop.idlehandscraftales.com or customers can arrive on the day of the event and pay in person. Any and all donations are welcome. The beer will be available on draft and in cans at the Idle Hands taproom. A limited amount will also be available in distribution.

Find Idle Hands on social media: @idlehandsbeer on Instagram and @IdleHandsCraftAles on Facebook.