Get Well Pell Ell

Brewers unite to support one of their own

On recent visits to the Socorro Springs Brewing Company, I have noticed that one of the brews available has been something called Casey’s Get Well Pell Ell. There were signs indicating that this particular brew was a fund-raiser to help pay medical bills for someone named Casey Gwinn, but I didn’t pick up many details.

Thursday, the Albuquerque Journal had an article explaining the story behind the brew. Casey was the head brewer at Farmington’s Three Rivers Brewery, and he was struck by a massive stroke (at the age of 36) that has resulted in $200,000 and counting in medical bills, not covered by insurance. His business partners and his mother got together and created a recipe for a pale ale that would be exactly his taste, and they made the recipe available to other microbrewers. The idea is that all of the proceeds from this brew are to go toward Casey’s medical expenses. The name of the ale actually is a bit of humor based on Casey’s being a stickler for spelling.

As a grammarian and a beer lover, I must whole-heartedly support this effort. So far, microbreweries from across the country have produced Get Well Pell Ell in support of Casey’s recovery – the article in the Journal says that breweries from South Dakota to Hawaii are supporting the cause.

I’ve tried the brew, and it’s really good – hoppy, without being too bitter. If Casey’s mother and partners have accurately reflected his tastes, we want him to recover and get back to brewing.

Meanwhile, if you have a favorite brewpub, you might want to let the brewers know about this project. I would love to see Get Well Pell Ell in San Diego, for example, and it would be way cool if it showed up in Prague.