Funk Yo Couch & Vanilla Anonym

Good things take patience. Great things take time.

It is our belief that beer embodies a sense of place and time, reflecting both where we are at any moment as well as where we have been. When we release a new Slush variant, we believe those beers represent the summer months, easy drinking, refreshing, fruit forward, and most important of all – FUN.

When our Monstah series returns, it represents a change from warm weather to cool fall nights, with dark robust flavors, warming high alcohol, and seasonal spices. Staple beers like Super 77, Local Beer, and Deep Roots are available year-round, because these are the styles we enjoy no matter what the season. Each beer we create is a direct representation of where we are in that moment, what inspires us, and where we want to push ourselves creatively.

This is why aged beers are so special.

Aged beers are a snapshot in time. They are a photograph that slowly develops and brings clarity, as imagination becomes reality. When we brew a beer that is going to be aged, we hope that the final result will be close to what our goals were, but we know that time will ultimately have far more influence on the final product.

Time cannot be bound.

Funk Yo Couch is our multi-award winning series that was born from airborne microbes and then aged in a stainless steel vessels as a mixed culture solera. Each time we release a new variant, we pull aged beer from the solera and then add fresh wort back to the tote. This process ferments the new beer with the existing mixed culture from the very first batch and every batch after. This process introduces levers that we can pull to influence and guide the natural evolution of this mixed culture, but controlling each aspect and the end result is very difficult to do.

As Funk Yo Couch ages, the flavor and aroma become more refined, nuanced, and complex. This aging process takes up to a year to fully develop. Since we do not barrel age this series, all of the aroma and flavor is derived from the microbes and the hops, which makes this release incredibly special.

Nelson Sauvin is a beautiful hop.

When Nelson Sauvin started gaining popularity in New England IPAs, we imedietly considered it for Funk Yo Couch. Nelson Sauvin has an amazing white wine, tropical and stone fruit character that we knew would compliment all of the pineapple, mango, and peach characteristics that Funk Yo Couch is famous for, but we had no idea how the final beer would taste. Unfortunately, Nelson Sauvin is very expensive, so we considered using other hop varietals as well.

Ultimately, we decided that this opportunity could not be missed just because of the higher cost. Once the beer was ready, we dry hopped it with over 2lbs per barrel of Nelson Sauvin and then aged it for a bit longer. Last month we pulled a sample for our Six Year Anniversary to see if we had made the right decision. It was perfect. Since that time, the beer has been naturally conditioning in the cans. And now, after eight weeks, it is finally ready.

Which leads us to the next release.

Vanilla Anonym is aged in Breckenridge Distillery Bourbon barrels, which changes the beer significantly over time. By using Bourbon barrels, flavors from the Bourbon and wood are slowly imparted. Rich vanilla, sweet caramel, deep oak notes, and thick chocolate flavors create new layers of complexity and nuance. After 18 months in the barrel, the beer evolved into bold marshmallow and fudge flavors with a Bourbon finish.

While we could have been released the beer without adjuncts, we saw a very unique opportunity to compliment these flavors with the addition of vanilla; but not just any vanilla. There was only one kind of vanilla that would fit the bill for this project: Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla.

Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla is the most expensive, rarest, and highest quality vanilla you can buy. Five pounds of whole bean Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla costs as much as a mortgage payment — no joke. The beans are hand-selected for their freshness and rich fragrance, which are grown and cured on the Bourbon Island of Madagascar. The velvety and mellow flavor is full of rich sweetness and long-lasting dark-creamy notes. By adding Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla to this blend, we hoped that the complementary notes would really showcase the fudge and brownie richness that we picked up in the tasting.

Again, it was perfect.

Starting Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at 10am, 70% of the publicly available Vanilla Anonym volume will be available for purchase online, first come first served, until vouchers are sold out. Vanilla Anonym will only be sold as 12oz four-pack vouchers online. Each four-pack voucher is $60, limit one four-pack voucher per person with only 168 four-packs​ total available.

Then on Friday, September 6, 2019 at 12pm, the other 30% of Vanilla Anonym cans will be available for purchase on site with Nelson Sauvin Funk Yo Couch. Taproom allocation of Vanilla Anonym will be available on draft and as single 12oz cans for $15 per can or $60 per four-pack with a limit of one four-pack per customer. Proxies are not allowed for this release because it is so limited. All sales are final.

Please do not purchase online vouchers unless you can redeem them at the brewery. All vouchers must be redeemed by October 6, 2019 by 8pm, no exceptions. While there is no perfect system for releasing beer, we believe this is the fairest way to make sure as many people as possible are able to get cans.

No expense was spared, no corners were cut.

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ON SITE & TO-GO

Vanilla Anonym
Imperial Stout aged for 18 months in Breckenridge Distillery Bourbon barrels with Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans
12% ABV | 26 IBU
$15 per can | 12 oz can
$60 per four-pack | 12 oz can four-pack
One four-pack per person limit

Nelson Sauvin Funk Yo Couch
Mixed culture Brett Saison dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin hops
5.6% ABV | 20 IBU
$24 per four-pack | 16 oz can four-pack
Two four-packs per person limit

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ON SITE ONLY

Frozen Super Blue Slush
Imperial Sour Ale with double the amount of Blue Raspberry Kool-Aid
8% ABV | 10 IBU
$8 per 10 oz pour

Frozen Super Purple Slush
Imperial Sour Ale with double the amount of Grape Kool-Aid
8% ABV | 10 IBU
$8 per 10 oz pour