Every craft beer drinker has a memorable moment of their favorite beer, brewery or brewery tour. My favorite craft beer moment was my first brewery tour. I didn’t understand the amount of knowledge and passion that goes into creating the beer until I was on my first of many brewery tours. I listened to the guide talk about the beer as if it were a close friend—he respected the craftsmanship and innovation that went into each beer.
This experience made me want to learn more about this art form, and it set in motion my quest to finding my own excitement and affection for craft beer. The craft beer revolution is thriving in large part to the lovers of craft beer, but, without the hard work and dedication of the brewers, there would be no revolution.
The Rare Barrel, in Berkeley Calif., is an all-sour brewery who wanted to make it easier for people to find this uncommonly brewed beer. The brewery has decided to honor those who have “significantly and positively changed the landscape of beer” with a new collaboration series: On the Shoulders of Giants.
For their first beer in the series, they’ve paid tribute to a “giant” of the industry who has helped pave the way for today’s brewers—Pete Slosberg, co-founder of Pete’s Brewing Company. In their blog post “On the Shoulders of Giants,” The Rare Barrel explains why Pete is a giant in their eyes:
“In a time when craft beer awareness wasn’t nearly as prevalent as it is today, Pete understood that education about craft beer was paramount to understanding awareness about craft beer.”
Slosberg was instrumental to the industry by being one of the first to package his beers in 22oz bottles, as well as one of the first to put craft beer into cans. He was also a pioneer in the seasonal beer category by offering four different seasonal beers at a time when Christmas beers were one of the only seasonals on the shelves.
The first beer in this unique collaboration series is a blended dark sour beer with sour cherries, and is arguably the brewery’s most sour beer to date.
Read more about Slosberg’s brew day and the collaboration series on The Rare Barrel blog.
Atalie Rhodes is the current Craft Beer Program intern at the Brewers Association. Her love of craft beer lead her to becoming a trainer at Yard House Restaurants, but she is constantly seeking more beer knowledge. If she is not at a brewery asking a plethora of questions about their beer, she is probably out fishing, playing volleyball or reading one of her favorite books.
CraftBeer.com is fully dedicated to small and independent U.S. breweries. We are published by the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group dedicated to promoting and protecting America’s small and independent craft brewers. Stories and opinions shared on CraftBeer.com do not imply endorsement by or positions taken by the Brewers Association or its members.
Share Post