Abita's SOS BeerLocally brewed beer is as synonymous with Louisiana and the Gulf Coast as the sweet succulent seafood that unfortunately, as of late, has been marinating in BP's gumbo of tragedy and carelessness.

But just like at any neighborhood crawfish boil that suddenly goes south, beer is here to help make things much, much better.

The Abita Brewing Company of Abita Springs, La., unveiled a new bottled brand of brew called "SOS," designed solely to raise money, relief and awareness of the Gulf Coast oil spill, which has ravaged much of the southeast coastline in the 100 harrowing days.

"We knew we needed to do something," said Abita president David Blossman. "Our neighbors were hurting and the ecology of the Gulf and the wetlands are hurting. We decided to do what we do best, which is make beer."

The SOS brand, an acronym for "Save Our Shores," was specially created just for this relief effort, down to the smallest ingredient. Blossman describes the wheat infused brew as a "big beer" for a big cause.

"We wanted to make it more of a Bohemian-style pilsner, like Czech Republic–style," Blossman said. "We wanted it to have some pleasant bitterness that would round out and balance out the sweetness of the malt and have that beautiful, deep gold color."

Of every dollar raised by the SOS brand, $0.75 goes into a special fund established by Abita to assist with the rescue and restoration of the Gulf Coast and its wetlands. The company will also donate 100 percent of its merchandise proceeds sold through the SOS website.

This isn't the first time the Abita has used the awesome power of beer to pitch in on a relief effort. Abita released a line called "Restoration" to help with the Hurricane Katrina cleanup. It netted $550,000 in charitable donations. Blossman hopes to surpass that number this time around.

The new brand hit the store shelves in Louisiana earlier this month and should spread to the rest of the Southwest sale region later in the fall, Blossman said.