(San Leandro, CA) — At one point, Mike “Tasty” McDole was just a mild-mannered homebrewer who stumbled into the universe of The Brewing Network, the premier multimedia website for brewers and beer lovers. A regular on the Network’s “Session” show, Tasty gained notoriety with advice to listeners that was 50% informative, 35% conversation and the remainder too inappropriate for this paragraph.
Today, Tasty’s legendary status among the craft beer community is trademarked by his award-winning homebrew recipes and his signature caricature sticker, which you’ll find affixed at nearly every good beer place around the country. And so with great pleasure, and McDole’s personal sticker of approval, 21st Amendment Brewery presents a delicious collaboration, Tasty IPA, a beer that is rooted in friendship, created for the common love of homebrewing and dedicated to the American beer beauty known as Tasty McDole.
At 6.8% ABV with its straw color, Tasty IPA drinks easily but isn’t necessarily easy drinking. The hop forward creation, spawned from test batches of Tasty’s own homebrews, features Citra and Mosaic Lupulin Powder with Ekuanot hop pellets.
“If you like hops, and you love IPA, you’ll definitely enjoy this beer… even in spite of the naked guy swimming in hops on the front of the can,” jokes Shaun O’Sullivan, co-founder and Brewmaster of 21st Amendment. “In all seriousness, this beer is delicious. The lupulin powder is made from the “heart of the hop,” where the hop resins and oils reside, giving this beer bright, fresh flavors and aromas of tropical stone fruits and pine, with a hint of spiciness.”
Tasty IPA is 21st Amendment’s second Insurrection Series beer release of 2017, and in September a limited amount of this beer will be distributed nationwide, on draft and in six pack carriers.
“This year we switched up our Insurrection Series line-up with new beers that celebrate our creative spirit inside and outside of the can,” said Nico Freccia, co-founder of 21st Amendment. “Watermelon Funk kettle sour, a twist on Hell or High Watermelon, was our first release and now we’re coming at you with something totally different – a quenching IPA with a clean bitterness and a ton of hop aroma and flavor, housed inside a package featuring a naked bearded guy covered in hops.”
What’s more? Tasty IPA pairs with spicy foods, peach cobbler, cargo shorts and your favorite beer t-shirt. The can design features McDole lying in a bed of hops, inspired by the iconic fantasy scene in the movie “American Beauty,” and was drawn by Tasty’s son Mark McDole. It serves as a reminder to all homebrewers that dreams do come true, fantasies can become reality, and big burly beer dudes are a thing of beauty.
“At the end of the day, we’re all just a collection of beer geeks having fun, doing what we love in this homage to the art of homebrewing,” added O’Sullivan.
Six packs and draft of Tasty IPA will be available for a limited time in all 21A distribution markets including AK, CA, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, MA, MD, ME, MN, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, VA, VT, WA and Washington D.C.