Earthbound Beer’s first summer release is out now. Out & About dropped June 1, to kick off Pride Month.
“Every year we partner with a local LGBTQIA+ organization and a portion of the O&A $ proceeds will be donated back to these organizations who are doing the most good for some of the most marginalized folks,” wrote the brewery on social media.
This year Earthbound has have teamed up with @thesqsh ! St. Louis Queer + Support Helpline, affectionately pronounced “squish.” Founded on the belief that every LGBTQIA+ person deserves to be treated kindly. Their mission is to serve and strengthen the STL LGBTQIA+ community- by providing an empathetic listening ear, by connecting individuals safely and reliably to LGBTQIA+ resources.
The Beer
Out & About was born out the breweries desire to create a fun and unique beer for Pride month. They basically took the recipe for their Lavender Braggot and jazzed it up a bit. The team tested Out & About on the pilot system 2 years ago, and it went over well enough that they felt confident in bumping it up to the 7BBL system last year.
Braggot ales are not a super mainstream style and non-mainstream is kind of Earthbound’s thing.
“We are just hipsters like that,” said Danielle a brewer at Earthbound. “Also, hibiscus is really fun to work with, the scent, flavor and coloring are fabulous. We thought it would pair nicely with honey and lavender because you get a lot of that floral/sweetness from those ingredients and the hibiscus comes in and balances those flavors out with its cranberry-like tartness.”
Label Art
The idea behind the Out & About artwork stemmed from Danielle’s days of traveling around New Zealand in the 1994 Mitsubishi RVR (Lady Judith) that she had purchased. Out & About made her think of being adventurous and of being seen.
“The second concept came from an Instagram account that we follow,” said Danielle. It’s an account that gives LGBTQ folks a platform to freely express themselves and their sexuality (it often involves photo shoots with trucks). Enter the idea for a Big Gay Monster Truck!”
The brewery wanted to bring in a local artist who was involved in the queer community. Abby Dorning is a local artist and actor/creator for the we series, One Brick Shy.
“I had met Abby through a mutual friend and had seen her artwork. I gave her the whole run down and she truly brought Out & About to life! We are so thrilled to work with her!
Tasting Notes:
- How does the beer pour and appear at first glance? Dark pink/light red, moderate foam and lacing
- Can you describe this beer’s bouquet on the nose? Floral, tart, subtle sweetness from the honey
- What flavors can we expect when we first try this beer? Bright & semi-dry
More
A lot of breweries make a beer for Pride month, and it’s truly wonderful to see the craft beer community show love to the LGBTQ community.
“What makes our Pride beer special is that it’s actually made by an LGBTQIA person,” said Danielle. “I want to use my brewer platform to be as visible as possible, to let other folks in the community know that, yes, they too can do this! Brewing beer isn’t just for straight white guys with beards!”
