Releasing today at Daft Brewing, we have a classic east vs west coast rivalry brewing with our latest drops – Biggie, a New England IPA, and Tupac, a West Coast IPA.
The Cause
We have been learning, reading, and listening the past few weeks. To be honest, we weren’t sure how to respond. We want to use our platform in a meaningful way. In the end, we chose to tie our support to the release of two new beers (since that’s all we really do). The namesake of these beers, Christopher “Biggie” Wallace and Tupac Shakur, are two of the most influential artists in the last century. Their stories are representative of the injustices that many Black communities face today.
Here is an excerpt from season 3 of the Slow Burn podcast, which digs into the lives and deaths of Biggie and Tupac:
“You have two guys, two of the brightest stars to emerge out of the hip-hop era in that time, and they’re gone, just like that,” Joel Anderson, the Slow Burn host, says. “And if those two guys can get killed and nothing can happen, then what does that say for the rest of us? As you see, it’s not like we’ve been able to solve that problem.”
We will be donating $2000 from the profits of Biggie and Tupac to the Ontario-based Black Legal Action Centre (link below).
We are trying to learn more about these issues every day. We hope that we can help foster a more equitable world. Until then, we will continue to try to be better. Below are a few resources that we found enlightening and, at times, uncomfortable, including the podcast mentioned above. We would love to hear from you if you have any other resources that you love!
Resources:
Slow Burn podcast about Biggie and Tupac – more info can be found here. https://www.npr.org/2019/11/07/776908450/slow-burn-season-3-turns-its-investigative-eye-to-the-murders-of-biggie-and-tupa
“13th” documentary on Black criminalization can be found on Netflix, here. https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/80091741
“The Skin We’re In” documentary, here. https://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/m_episodes/the-skin-were-in
Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC), more info can be found here. https://www.blacklegalactioncentre.ca/
The Beer
These two beers are the first styles that jump to mind when discussing IPAs. The difference between the two have long been a topic of discussion during our late night virtual beer and cheese pairings, and head brewer Ryan is finally delivering on his drunken claims that he would eventually release these two beers side by side.
When asked what inspired the East coast vs West Coast double release, CEO Adam Rondeau gave a little shrug before explaining “I was confident that if Ryan brewed two beers for a double release that at least one of the beers would be palatable..” Staring off into the distance as he trailed off Adam let out a sigh, “But it’s humbling to be able to admit my incorrect assumptions and errors in judgement.”
When you first set your eyes on Biggie you will notice you can’t even see through the beer thanks to its haziness. This was done using a combination of water chemistry and oats to add protein to the beer, giving it a smooth and creamy mouthfeel. The haze captures the flavour and aroma of our heavy dry hop addition of Mosaic, Citra, and Sabro. The result is a super juicy beer bursting with tropical flavours.
Biggie is very similar in colour and mouthfeel to Bingpot, but because of the different hops used it has a completely different flavour.
Hailing from the west, Tupac is one of the first American beer styles which was a driving force behind the craft beer revolution when it launched in the late 80s and early 90s. Tupac is much more clear than its counterpart from the east. With a heavy hop addition during the boil, this beer is more on the bitterside, but a malty base helps to bring balance to the beer and prevent the bitterness from overwhelming the senses. Tupac has a heavy dose of traditional west coast hops to give it that classic dank citrus and piney notes. Specifically, this beer is hopped with Cascade, Simcoe, and El Dorado.
Biggie and Tupac are flowing on the taps and available in the Daft bottle shop now. Swing by to enjoy a pint on our patio or grab a few bottles to enjoy at home before they are gone.