Athens-based brewery Creature Comforts plans to release a limited-run beer to honor the life of the late Atlanta chef Ria Pell. Pell was the chef and owner of Ria's Bluebird Cafe, the popular Grant Park restaurant she opened in 2000. The beer, called Ria Pell Ale, is a pale ale featuring a special blend of hops varietals, including Motueka, Pacifica, HBC692 and Vic Secret. This limited release will be available only in the brewery's Athens tap room, beginning March 13.
Known for her activism and support of the LGBTQ community, Pell died in 2013. The team at Creature Comforts was introduced to her story through an event with the Invisible Histories Project, a nonprofit organization that chronicles the history of LGBTQ life in the Southeast.
"IHP led us to Ria's story, and the more we learned, the better the narrative unfolded," said Matt Stevens, vice president of strategic impact at Creature Comforts, in a statement. "After meeting Ria's widow, we discovered the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition (AHRC), a charity Ria championed throughout her life."
The AHRC's mission is to promote community-based wellness by reducing the impact of diseases like HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis-C, other sexually transmitted infections and substance abuse. The latter is a well-chronicled issue in the restaurant industry.
Creature Comforts is working with AHRC to identify one of the organization’s clients to receive support from the brewery. The company will use the profits from Ria Pell Ale sales to “aid that individual in a way that is both memorable and meaningful,” according to the statement.
The unique structure of the donation is part of Creature Comforts' Brew For One program, an annual charitable effort "to do for one what the brewery wishes it could do for everyone."
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