Will Cleveland

@WillCleveland13

Roc Brewing and Gilda's Club Rochester are neighbors. You can see the nonprofit from the brewery's back door. In the spirit of being a good neighbor, owner Chris Spinelli offered his brewery to help out.

Earlier this month, members of the nonprofit's associate board and the brewers at Roc teamed up to make "Gilda’s It’s Ale-ways Something" pale ale, a fresh and new take on the brewery's flagship Golden Ale.

It features the same malt backbone as the Golden, but Mosaic and Amarillo hops will add a nice tropical fruit twist. The 7-barrel batch will be tapped Friday, March 23 during a happy hour event at Roc Brewing, 56 S. Union St. in Rochester.

"The main goal is to increase our exposure to a demographic that otherwise might not know what we do," said Alex Amorese, a member of the group's associate (young professional) board. "Reaching into the craft beer industry will help us reach new people.

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Gilda's Club was founded over 20 years ago and is named in honor of Gilda Radner, the famed Saturday Night Live comedian who died in 1989 after battling ovarian cancer. The nonprofit offers a meeting place for those impacted by cancer and also offers things like cooking classes and other activities.

"The beer culture in Rochester is really insatiable," said Adam Carey, a member of the nonprofit's associate board. "They can never been satisfied, they always want to try new things. With this beer release, we want to tap into that. We want to bring in people who may never have heard of Gilda's Club."

Roc is donating a portion of the sales to Gilda's Club and also donating two half-barrels to the nonprofit. One will be tapped at Gilda's Club annual Bachelor Auction on Friday, March 31 at Anthology. This is the first beer specifically brewed for a charity by one of Rochester’s craft breweries. The nonprofit hopes to team up with other local breweries in the future.

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"I've personally been touched by cancer, through some family members," Spinelli said. "We want to do anything we can to support people suffering. It's easy for us to get behind it. The beer community is so warm and welcoming, so we can do a lot to support good causes."

WCLEVELAND@Gannett.com

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