Ska Street Brewstillery Debuts First Packaged Products: Chasing Gremlins Imperious Stout and Third Wave White Rum
Ska Street Brewstillery in Boulder, Colorado begins limited distribution today with the release of their first packaged products.
Damon Scott; photo courtesy Brewtography Project
BOULDER, CO— Ska Street Brewstillery, the first Colorado business of its kind, begins limited distribution today with the release of their first packaged products— Chasing Gremlins Barrel Aged Imperious Stout and Third Wave White Rum crafted by Brewstiller Damon Scott.
In the truest fashion of the Legion of Ska, Ska Street, a joint project of sister companies Ska Brewing and Peach Street Distillers, will hit the market in a big way— with a bold, 18.5% ABV beer and an inspired spirit that showcase Scott’s robust brewing and distilling background. Scott received his MSc degree in Brewing and Distilling from Heriot-Watt University, and worked as the Technical Brewing Projects manager of the Brewers Association with a decade of brewery production and management in between.
“This is the guy we put in place to execute everything we’ve learned in 40 collective years of experience in brewing and distilling,” says Ska Brewing CEO and Co-Founder Dave Thibodeau. “We’re proud to showcase his unique skill set and the facility we’ve built around him with the release of a new product from both sides of Ska Street.”
Chasing Gremlins Imperious Stout was aged at Ska Street in a Peach Street Colorado Straight Bourbon 5 Year Single Barrel, with added maraschino cherries and vanilla to “layer in flavors like you would a cocktail,” Scott explains. Chasing Gremlins connects the dots between the brewing and distilling side of what Ska Street does, Scott says. “At 37 proof, it’s almost a spirit in itself!”
Along with Chasing Gremlins comes Third Wave White Rum, distilled from 100% organic cane sugar. Tasting notes include tropical fruit, pineapple, and banana esters, with a hint of vanilla sweetness. Third Wave is Scott’s first contribution to the Peach Street family of spirits, which up until now has not included rum.
“Traditionally rum has a lot of mixed culture fermentation, which offers a chance for us to use our super traditional copper, alembic pot still,” Scott says. “We picked specific yeasts isolated from rum fermentations known to produce esters and more fruity flavors, and our still allowed us to retain as much of that character as possible.”
Third Wave Rum bottles and Chasing Gremlins Imperious Stout bombers will be available this week across Colorado. The beer and spirit will be self-distributed by Ska Street in Boulder and Palisade, and by Ska Distributing in Durango. Contact Dustin Lemoine with Ska Street distribution inquiries at dustin@skastreet.com.
Contact Emily Hutto at hutto@radcraftbeer.com with media inquiries about Ska Street Brewstillery, Peach Street Distillers, and Ska Brewing.
ABOUT SKA BREWING
Based in Durango, Colorado, Ska Brewing was founded in 1995 and produces more than a dozen award- winning beers fueled with Ska music, and lots of it. Pioneers in the canned craft beer movement, Ska Brewing is known for an array of styles in 12 oz cans that include Mexican Logger, Modus Hoperandi, and Rue B. Soho. For information (a lot of it), more music, and a good time, visit www.skabrewing.com.
ABOUT PEACH STREET DISTILLERS
Peach Street Distillers was founded in 2005 in the heart of Colorado’s Fruit and Wine region, Palisade Colorado, where the high desert meets the mountains. The warm days and cool nights in Palisade make the local fruits and grains unimaginably delicious. Living the very definition of “craft” we do everything the hard way to turn these fermentable raw materials into extraordinary spirits. Because, this is what we consider fun and what makes for a mighty fine drink. Peach Street Distillers is Colorado’s oldest continuously owned and operated distillery. Visit Peach Street at www.peachstreetdistillers.com for more about the spirits and the spirits squad.
Craft Industry COVID-19 Update - March 31, 2020
"Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work." — Warren Bennis
Photo by The Brewtography Project
"Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work." —Warren Bennis
The craft barley community is taking one for the team. In the United States, many of these businesses have been deemed essential by most government authorities— which means that many of the agriculture and service industry professionals in our community are out on the front lines.
(That’s not the case for every country, and we’ll get into that with some of our friends across the globe next week.)
We never realized how much we take our third spaces for granted.
We trust these establishments with our family gatherings, our first dates, our last dates, our meeting agendas, coveted catch-ups between friends, and so much more. COVID-19 gave us a harsh wake up call that it’s about time we show the service industry it can trust us back.
Let’s keep the lights on for craft. Let’s do so safely, with positivity and resilience. Here are a few ways you can help, with much more to come…
Restauranteur Connection rounded up more than 20 relief programs for restaurants and their employees in this helpful article.
IGC Hospitality launched a program to ensure that out-of-work hospitality workers don’t go hungry. Family Meal will provide FREE meals to anyone in the industry.
Our dear friends at The Brewtography Project will give you a FREE BOOK if you send them your receipt for $50 or more at your local craft brewery. Learn more about their generosity here.
If you know of a community or nonprofit effort that supports hospitality businesses in need, we want to hear about it. Comment here, or email us so we can help get the word out.
Hang in there, everyone. One day at a time.
— The RadCraft team
RadCraft 2017 Year In Review
In 2017, RadCraft's partners brewed more than 93,000 BBL of beer, employed 1,154 people, and contributed more than $100,000 to charity.
RadCraft’s partners brewed more than 93,000 BBL of beer, malted 400,000 pounds of barley, and distilled a small but significant volume of American Single Malt whiskey in 2017.
photo by Emily Sierra Photography
Last year our partners employed 1,154 people across the country, and served their world-class beer in five states. They debuted more than 15 packaged products on the market, which included Strange Craft’s 125th anniversary beer for The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa and Deerhammer’s first extension of their flagship product, Port Cask Finish American Single Malt.
RadCraft partners contributed more than $100,000 to charitable efforts throughout the calendar year.
A few of RadCraft’s tribe dug deep into their brands, refreshing and in some cases completely overhauling their label design and beyond. Lone Tree Brewing Co. underwent a complete company rebrand via Anthem Branding in the spring, and later in the year Bonfire Brewing began refreshing their canned beer labels one by one.
Lone Tree Brewing Company was awarded a gold medal for its Mexican Lager and a silver medal for its Hop Zombie IPA at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival® in the American Style Lager or Light Lager category and the Imperial Red Ale category, respectively. RadCraft partners also brought home awards from the San Diego International Beer Festival and the Colorado State Fair, among others.
Strange Craft joined forces with Wit's End Brewing Co. on Denver's first brewery co-tasting room and brewhouse at Strange's location on Zuni Street. Wit’s End Head Brewer Tyler Bies took over as Head Brewer of both brewing operations in December 2017.
Asheville-born Thirsty Monk, brewer of Belgian-Rooted Modern Ales and operator of world-recognized craft beer bars expanded its family of pubs to Denver, Colorado and Portland, Oregon. The Monkification of these locations is underway.
That’s only a snapshot of what our partners are up to. Here are their complete 2017 Year in Reviews.
Strange Craft Beer Co. / Wit’s End Brewing Co.
RadCraft secured more than 2,000 earned media placements for our partners in 2017. We helped with the launch of a new brewery brand— congratulations to Spice Trade Brewing on all of its successes in year one— and the development of online presence for a company that’s been thriving for more than 13 years— props to The MBM Group, which also hired its first managing partner Anna Nadasdy this year.
photo by Colin Bridge
In February, RadCraft Founder Emily Hutto launched the #dailystout campaign. Learn more about the effort and its 2018 development here.
In May, Little Shop of Floral made more than 20 bouquets of #GrowlerFlowers using our old growlers for our Moms on Mother’s Day. This was the soft launch of The Growler Flowers Project, a hashtag on Instagram and Twitter. There is so much more to come.
Over the summer we challenged beer-loving photographers to submit their depiction of “Summer Beer” in the Summer Session Photo Contest. The winner, Chris Rand, won our hearts with this photo of Bella and a Mountain Tap Brewery Crowler.
Throughout the year RadCraft had the honor of participating in several educational functions dedicated to professionals in the craft marketing space. If you would like resources from any of these conferences and events, feel free to reach out.
In January, our Founder Emily Hutto gave a presentation at the January Business of Beer event at Comrade Brewing advocating social media as a market research tool.
In March she moderated a panel during Colorado Craft Beer Week that celebrated the community of the breweries along the C-470 Corridor (Keep up the #C470beer hashtag, folks!), and another discussion on best practices for brewpub marketing at the inaugural Beer Marketing & Tourism Conference.
In November she had the opportunity to speak at both the North Carolina Craft Brewers Conference and the Colorado Brewers Summit about best practices for brewery blogging and brewery public relations strategies, respectively.
Also in 2017, RadCraft was stoked to be included in two podcast episodes, both focused on our favorite topic: craft beer marketing. Thank you to Steve Schmidt at Market the Brew and Ryan Wheaton at Branding Brews for their time and great conversations!
Market The Brew, Episode 030: PR: Authentic Narratives for Unique Breweries
Branding Brews, Episode BB020: Creating a Content Calendar
In December, RadCraft celebrated its 5th anniversary. Read our reflections on five years in business here.
photo by The Brewtography Project
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2018
We're currently in the throws of Stout Month, using the hashtag #dailystout to document our fundraising efforts for Water For Good.
We're excited to welcome Ska Brewing to our tribe of radical crafters. Say hello to Ska, everyone!
We're heading to Nashville for the Craft Brewers Conference in April, where we're collaborating with fellow craft marketing companies— Promote The Brew, CODO Design, and more— as co-expo vendors. Get ready.
We couldn't do what we do without our partners, our collaborators, and our friends in the craft beer community. Raising our glasses to everyone who contributed to a successful 2017 at RadCraft. Cheers to 2018!
Four Styles of Stout to Track Down This Stout Month
Talking Stout styles with Dan Rabin. Here are four varieties of Stouts, with examples of each style to boot. Happy Stout Month!
Emily Hutto and Dan Rabin, photo by The Brewtography Project
Beer and travel author Dan Rabin and RadCraft founder Emily Hutto, gave a talk at the Denver Press Club in November about the variety among styles of the beloved Stout beer style. Thanks again to The Press Club for having us, and thanks to Dan for this great idea. He wanted to convey the true spectrum that is Stout styles, and he's largely responsible for choosing the beer list below.
It should be noted that Dan was one of the first contributors to the #DailyStout campaign for Water for Good, too!
Here are four varieties of Stouts, with examples of each style to boot. Happy Stout Month!
Dry Irish Stout: Carlow Brewing Co. (aka O’Hara’s Brewery) O’Hara’s Irish Stout, 4.3% ABV 40 IBU
This family-owned brewery began operating in 1996 as a pioneer in Irish craft brewing. While the Dry Irish Stout style is generally synonymous with Guinness, there’s a perception among many that the Guinness brewed today by the Irish corporate giant lacks the robust character of the Guinness of old. O’Hara’s Irish Stout is often described as “authentic,” “traditional,“ and “how stouts used to taste.” Indeed, the beer hits all the right notes stylistically with a smooth malt base, coffee-like roastiness, dry finish and low alcohol content conducive to partaking in multiple pints. Its flavors are best expressed when served cool, not cold.
Sweet Stout: Finkel & Garf Brewing Co. Oatmeal Milk Stout, 5.5% ABV, 36 IBU
Stylistically, this Boulder-brewed stout represents a hybrid of Sweet Stout and Oatmeal Stout. F&G is committed to subtlety and approachability in its beers, and this one in particular is brewed to debunk assumptions that dark and “sweet” beers are scary, chewy, or cloying. It has just the right roundness of roast, dark chocolate, and malt sweetness that washes down smooth and slightly sweet. The silky mouthfeel of this stout is created through the use of about 10 percent oats in its grain bill. F&G Oatmeal Milk Stout is the 2017 GABF gold medal winner in the Sweet or Cream Stout category.
Foreign Export Stout: Left Hand Brewing Co. Fade to Black Vol. 1, 8.5% ABV 30 IBU
Longmont’s Left Hand Brewing may be best known for its smooth milk stout, but the brewery’s seasonal Fade to Black Vol. 1 Foreign Export Stout has garnered its own collection of prestigious awards including three gold medals and one silver at the Great American Beer Festival, and a gold medal at the 2016 World Beer Cup. The beer is big, bold, complex and highly satisfying. As it warms, a variety of flavors emerge including coffee, chocolate, licorice and dark fruits. At 8.5%, it toes the line, but doesn’t quite enter the terrain of Imperial Stouts.
Imperial Stout: Great Divide Brewing Co. Yeti Imperial Stout, 9.5% ABV, 75 IBU
This beer is big in every way. Made by the home of Colorado’s original strong ale (Hibernation Ale, first brewed in in 1995), Great Divide’s infamous Yeti is a classic example of the Imperial Stout style, winner of three Great American Beer Festival awards in the Imperial Stout category. It’s a liquid balancing act between big, roasty malt flavor and bold hop flavor and aroma. Stout in general and specifically Yeti has been a great canvas for brewing creations, which at Great Divide have been an array of Yeti varietals including Espresso Oak-Aged and Oatmeal Yeti.