Public display of PDA

Here’s a winter warmer with a heartwarming touch.

The Lantern Tap House tomorrow releases its Winter PDA (Perry District Ale), specially brewed for the occasion by Alameda in Portland.

The “wintry red” (7 percent alcohol by volume, 80 International Bitterness Units) gets its pronounced citrusy character from a healthy dose of an Australian hop, Stella.

“It’s a winter ale that definitely has a Northwest presence,” says Lantern owner Mike Dolmage. “That’s what we were aiming for, we wanted the hops to really come through.”

Those hops truly are the heart of the beer. They’re a tribute to 6-year-old Stella Druffel – the daughter of close friends of Dolmage and his wife, Melissa – who was diagnosed with leukemia last summer.

A dollar from every pint of PDA sold will be donated to the Stella Fund to assist with her care.

“Everybody wanted to do something, and there ended up being all these events,” Dolmage says. “It was hard for their network of family and friends to go to all of them.

“This is something ongoing, that continually will be giving back to Stella’s fund.”

He’s planning a special Lantern seasonal each quarter in collaboration with Alameda. The Dolmages got to know brewery owner Matt Schumacher during visits to Melissa’s native Portland.

Dolmage and the Alameda crew developed the recipe in September, then he and an employee returned last month to help brew the beer on Alameda’s five-barrel pilot brewery.

If the first 10 kegs run out quickly, they’ll brew another batch, Dolmage says, to make sure the beer is available for a Feb. 8 live auction to benefit the Druffels.

Tomorrow’s release also coincides with signup day for the Lantern’s mug club, starting when doors open at 11 a.m. After 55 renewals, there are only 10 open spots; $50 gets you a T-shirt and 22-ounce mug fills through next year for the price of a pint.