Get ready for IPA Day in Arizona, its going to be AWESOME!

James Swann starts the discussion

There are a few commemorative "days" in the craft beer community that have become pretty popular lately. In recent years "Stout Day" and "IPA Day" have given us just a couple of reasons to celebrate our love of craft beer, and in turn, have become the most popular. Well, this year, IPA Day in Arizona, is going to be, in a word, spectacular!
This year, IPA Day is August 1st, and to commemorate the day for 2013, the valley beer bars are working up an epic collaboration to be released!

Why can't my meetings at work look like this?

                                                                         

A total of 16 bars are taking part in the this collaboration, the first step of which took place yesterday, Memorial Day, at Sleepy Dog Pub and Bistro in Gilbert. With representatives from World of Beer, Spokes on Southern, Ground Control,  Lucky Break and Whole Foods present, (the others were unable to make it, but are committed to the project), meeting at the Pub. To go ever the recipe with Rob and Matt from Sleepy Dog, who will be brewing the beer.

Rob, Sleepy Dogs Brewmaster, takling hops

The discussion, over a few beers (of coarse), went on for about an hour and half, on what they wanted to beer to look like, taste like, what aroma it would have, what hops would be used etc. I will tell you, for someone with (admittedly) limited experience in home brewing, and no experience brewing on a large scale, this was not only a fascinating discussion, but a hell of an education for me as well. I was very glad (and honored) that I was there!

I won't get into all the details of the beer just yet, but I will tell you, its going to be an Imperial IPA, light in color, fairly high in IBU's (around 80), with a decent amount of alcohol (about 8.5% is the target). The brew will be called "Wolf Pack Imperial IPA". They felt this best represents not only the collaborative effort of the beer, but also pays a bit of homage to Sleepy Dog's involvement as well.

The beer will be brewed on June 17th, at Sleepy Dogs brewing facility in Tempe. Art work will be done in the coming weeks as well. All this culminating in one massive, simultaneous release at all the valley beer bars on IPA Day, Aug 1st (specific times to come).
Stay tune, and keep an ear out for more news, as you will certainly be hearing a TON more about this beer in the days and weeks to come. To keep track of this beer, you can check it out not only here on The Beer Czar, but on Brew Bros, Chow Bella and Mouth by Southwest as well.

A hat tip to James Swann, as well as Rob and Matt from Sleepy Dog for their efforts in getting this project off the ground, and my thanks for including me in it as well!

Again, stay tunes, I will keep you all up to speed on this project.

Until next time
Bottoms up my friends

The Beer Czar