Whether you know it or not, Community Beer Works’ Frank, their beloved flagship American Pale Ale and first beer they ever brewed, is one of the most generous guys in Buffalo. Behind donations in exchange for a pint of Frank, CBW has helped to raise thousands of dollars for a variety of local causes, including Planned Parenthood, Journey’s End and the Boys & Girls Club. That’s a fitting resume for a beer that was brewed to be ‘Buffalo’s beer.’

Now, Community Beer Works is not only once again putting Frank back to work to empower good, they are putting all of their beer to work this time by partnering with Slow Roll Buffalo for this year’s Ride for Roswell. All night tonight (3-10pm), $1 from EVERY PINT you buy at CBW’s Lafayette HQ will be donated to Roswell Park. Every single pint sold in their taproom tonight will help fuel cutting-edge cancer research and compassionate patient-care programs at Roswell Park.

The cause is once that certainly near and dear to CBW’s Director of Marketing, Video & Design, Mike West.

“I was raised by two women: my great-grandma June (that legally adopted me when I was 3), and her daughter, my great-aunt Marcia,” he says. “My grandma June developed Alzheimer’s late in her life, and ultimately succumbed to cancer. My aunt Marcia also succumbed to cancer, much too young in her 50s. They were both incredibly strong women that taught me how to be strong; how to stand up for myself; how to be independent; how to laugh at anything (and how to swear at anything, Marcia). They showed me that strength is not a gender, and it’s also not something you do alone.”

“It’s been years since I’ve had them in my life, but I think about them often. And not only is the Ride for Roswell an obvious charity to honor both of them, it also falls within a week of both of their birthdays; my grandma’s on June 20 and aunt Marcia’s on June 26. Five years of participating in the Ride, and 6 months of working at CBW coming together…come have a drink with me. For my great-grandma June, for my aunt Marcia, and for too many countless others…we’ll have a good time, because that’s what they would want.”

Over the last year, CBW has led a true grassroots charge to foster a communal change through sales of their beer, and have raised and donated $750 to Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York Action Fund, $2,775 for Journey’s End Refugee Services of Buffalo, $1,335 for Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of WNY, $770 for Pinball EDU Charity, $833 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Northtowns and have also worked to donate to TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), who provide comfort through a national support network at no cost to families and loved ones, WNY Crisis Services and Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER.

For more information on the event, click here, and for more details about CBW’s team and their partnership with Slow Roll Buffalo, visit their fundraising page.

Brian Campbell is a co-founder/Brand Manager of the BNBA’s enthusiast arm, Buffalo Beer League, and writes the weekly Buffalo Beer Buzz column. If you have beer news that should be included in the Beer Buzz, Brian can be reached at buffalobeerleague@aol.com, on Twitter (@buffbeerleague), Instagram (@buffalobeerleague), Facebook (@thebuffalobeerleague) and www.buffalobeerleague.com.