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Semper Ri beer brewed to benefit Marine unit

Two things most Marines love: loyalty to the Corps and beer. Put the two together and you get Semper Ri — a dark, winter rye beer made by Westport, Mass., brewer Bill Russell.

Russell, founder of Just Beer, created the brew to raise money for 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, which deployed to Afghanistan in October and includes his stepson, 2nd Lt. Joshua Bruins.

On Oct. 27, the day Bruins deployed, Russell and his partner, Harry Smith, began to make 7,200 22-ounce bottles of Semper Ri, which sell for $4.99 each at the brewery’s retail store and select Massachusetts grocery stores. Two dollars from every bottle goes toward buying the unit, known as the Warlords, comforts from home such as socks, razors, hand warmers, hot chocolate and Christmas gifts.

“It’s $2 per 22 [ounces] for the 2/2,” according to Russell’s sale pitch.

Semper Ri contains 20 percent rye malt — and 4.8 percent alcohol.

“It’s a crisp, dry beer with the slightest hint of chocolate and roasted malt. If you smell it, you smell a little bit of the roastyness as well as a bit of the beautiful American hops that we use,” Russell said.

Russell came up with the idea to brew Semper Ri while watching his wife knit helmet liners for her son and the other Warlords. He thought to himself, “Do I really have to take up knitting to do something for Joshua over there?”

Then it dawned on him: He owns a brewery.

So while Bruins shipped out, Russell was “mashing in,” the first step in brewing.

The first bottles were warmly received and quickly downed at the Marine Corps’ birthday celebration Nov. 10 at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. Looking ahead, Russell said he hopes to brew a Marine-themed blonde summer beer. And he hopes to find a way to distribute his products across the country. Currently, he can sell it only in Massachusetts because of alcohol regulations that make it difficult and costly for small breweries to ship across state lines.

For now, Russell and the other 2/2 parents await their Marines’ safe return.

“If there is any [Semper Ri] left over, I think [2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines] will finish it off when they get home,” Russell said. “It is just one more reason to come home.”

For more information about Semper Ri and how it’s made, visit Semper Ri’s Web site or e-mail Russell at messmaker@justbeer.us