HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Straight to Ale has been able to stay afloat during the COVID-19 restrictions by continuing to provide to-go food and beer to customers.

The company has had to make some tough decisions as well, including laying off 62 employees.

“That hurt,” said operations manager Matt Broadhurst. “That felt personal. It wasn’t personal, but it felt very personal to us as a company.”

But the company has gone above and beyond to continue supporting these employees in any way they can— by helping them file for unemployment, and now, dedicating a new beer solely to them.

“We have a new beer coming out called ’86’ed.’ It’s an imperial German-style lager,” Broadhurst said. “One hundred percent of the profits from that are going to go directly back to our employees that we, unfortunately, had to lay off.”

By the way, “86’ed” is what these employees playfully call themselves, and the packaging even includes their likeness.

“If it’s as easy as making a beer that we can donate 100 percent of that to them, that’s the least we can do for them during this time,” Broadhurst said.

This limited taproom release will be available for sale in cans starting Thursday, April 16.