Sometimes you make jokes on Twitter and your wit goes out into the great unknown, unseen and unappreciated. (Or worse, unfavorited.)
Sometimes you joke around and someone decides to let you help turn it into a beer.
About a month ago, the latter happened.
This, specifically, is how it all went down.
Collaborations are funny things. When a beer is good, you don’t really know who to thank. In this case, however, you can put all your thanks and appreciation on brewer Ben Saller at Atlas Brewing when we release our “collaboration” beer, It’s Dangerous To Go Alone.
Even though Ben did the bulk of the work (I was on hand to watch the process take place, get in the way and ask annoying questions; at best I was able put the hibiscus in a cloth steeping bag for Ben, which he then put into the brew kettle), my broken-legged self and the Atlas gents did technically collaborate on the recipe.
I thought something pinkish for a Valentine’s Day beer would be clever, so after I bounced around the idea of a beer with roasted beets, we settled on hibiscus. Team Atlas had some fun new German hops to play with that we believed would partner well with the flavors of the hibiscus, so why not a single-hop pale ale to let those hop characteristics shine through? And just for fun, we figured we should toss some rye in there too, because why not. A simple pale malt grain bill would let the brighter, sharper flavors pop through and give it a nice easy-drinking light body, so that was an easy call as well.
The name started off as a goof, but for Valentine’s Day, it is, in a way, dangerous to go alone. So that was a happy accident of smartassery on our part.
And so, the “It’s Dangerous To Go Alone” hibiscus-infused single-hopped Rye Pale Ale was born. Zelda fans, rejoice.
The best part? You can help us drink it all!
Join us on February 13th (a day where it’s still moderately Safe To Go Alone for swingin’ singles and couples alike) at Atlas Brewing Company for the official release of this unique mystery of a beer. Should you choose to be modern and digitally supportive, you can chime and say “yes, I’ll go!” on the Facebook Event page here.