The gateways to wisdom and learning are always open, if you’re willing to try something new now and then. That’s why we love variety (and thus variety packs). As we get older, we get better at choosing what will make us happy. We also get better at letting things go, so a variety pack is an excellent way for craft drinkers of all experience levels to experiment with a brand’s portfolio. It’s also a good way for a craft brewery to sneak in something new.
21st Amendment Brewery recently announced that it will be releasing its first-ever variety pack, replete with a new experimental brand. Co-founders Nico Freccia and Shaun O’Sullivan divvied up the seasonal variety pack. Freccia chose Fireside Chat, the brewery’s fall seasonal winter spiced ale and Back in Black, dark IPA, “my every occasion beer.” O’Sullivan chose his flagship Brew Free! Or Die IPA and went a step further, brewing a brand new beer, a Mexican-style lager called El Sully, available only in the variety pack.
“El Sully is a smooth, easy drinking beer,” O’Sullivan explains. “Having grown up in Southern California near the Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach communities where I would spend many afternoons surfing and skateboarding, I would always enjoy Mexican-style golden, lighter and refreshing beers at the end of the day. Washing it down after a plate of carne asada tacos, it seemed fitting to recreate that experience and brew and package El Sully for all to enjoy.”
Named for Brewmaster O’Sullivan’s alter ego, El Sully is brewed with Pilsner and Vienna malts, flaked maize and Mexican lager yeast to create a bright, refreshing flavor that rings in at a drinkable 4.8 percent ABV and 19 IBUs.
“The release of El Sully and the new variety pack format are perfect examples of what the San Leandro Brewery is allowing us to do,” states Freccia, “It’s important to us that we’re providing beers that everyone can enjoy, and now you can pick up a variety pack and crack open a Fireside Chat one night by the fire or enjoy El Sully if you feel like something lighter.”
The fall variety pack hits shelves on October 1 in all of 21st Amendment’s current distribution territories and will be available through the New Year.
