Lake Louie Brewing is partnering with the Lake Country DockHounds American Association baseball team – in whose stadium the Verona-based beer maker has a brewhouse and taproom – on a series of “beers for a cause” and the first release is a pilsner to raise money for humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Lake Louie MoveUkraine Pilsner is brewed with roasted sunflower seeds, which are not only a well-known baseball player’s snack, but also a reference to the Ukrainian national flower.
The beer is brewed from a recipe created by Ontario’s Four Fathers Brewing Company and shared with other brewers eager to support Ukrainians affected by the war.
The Lake Louie version of the beer is available at the DockHounds stadium in Oconomowoc and at the Lake Louie taproom at the Wisconsin Brewing Company facility in Verona.
A percentage of each sale will be donated to MoveUkraine.org to help rebuild homes and lives of Ukrainians suffering from the war.
“I’m the father of three adopted children from that region of the world, and a Ukrainian American was instrumental in bringing our family together,” said brewery President Paul Verdu.
“A person critical in the adoption of our three children from the region years ago, was killed in the early days of the war.”
Verdu hopes to rally other craft brewers to support the cause, too.
“Lake Louie Brewing is the first U.S.-based outlet to commit to the specialty beer, which was a perfect match for the Lake Country DockHounds,” said MoveUkraine’s U.S. director Ken Shearer.
“The hope of MoveUkraine Pilsner is to impact the critical rebuilding of homes and lives of millions who have lost everything due to the war, including a safe roof over their heads. The campaign is intended to build awareness of the Ukrainian plight while putting a spotlight on the grim reality of their fight for freedom.”
Open-source brews for a cause like MoveUkraine have become common in recent years, with well-known examples like Black is Beautiful stout, One In Four IPA and All Together IPA.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
