whitney day block party. at bungalow by middle brow.
a couple years back, this local band made this record. ... we were making beers and naming them after bands we loved. we made a beer for soho house. frankly, it didn't turn out. it was a belgian single with strawberry vibes and grains of paradise. but it was brewed at a brewery that didn't quite get us just yet. and they fermented it all wrong, despite our insistence. ("these guys are idiots!" ... they thought. way back when. and we were. just not that kind of idiot.) and anyway, we named it after a studio run by steve albini. chicago legend. but it hardly ever sold. it took fucking for-e-ver. to finish selling. and eventually our relationship w soho house sorta fizzled.
but then we had the chance to make the beer again. just when we happened to hit our groove. just when we really knew how to blend yeast. and what "blended yeast" meant, relative to the other yeast games. and out came a dry-hopped, sour belgian table beer with grains of paradise. strawberries on the nose, yeah. but, like, the dried interior of a fully consumed fruit bowl on the palate. and an unearthly earthiness. a funk that wasn't too funky. and a soft, lilting sound. following us around. the kind of beer that you taste juuuuust for a split second. as someone is getting out of their car. before they shut the door. just enough to ID the song. am-radio-in-the-70s style. and so we thought: who captures that style? who wrote the songs that we keep hearing this summer? from other people's car-door speakers. as them folks alight and approach us. and which of those bands feel sorta funky. but only sorta. and fruit forward. softly hopped. and secretly interesting. and nostalgic for something difficult. cuz we sorta missed the difficult times. with our silly ex-girlfriends and boyfriends. in barnes and nobles. and crying in front seats. and in sub-divisions.
and whitney did. whitney made us feel those things.
they still do.
and so we named it after them. and @lulacafe bought it. and poured it on keg. and joel loved it. and it turned out, much to our surprise, that, like, half the band either worked at or were connected to lula. so most of them drank it. and malcom particularly liked it. and he brought a bunch of cases to his dad.
so here we are. expanding on the beer we made and were later permitted, by the band, to keep calling *WHITNEY*. thanks to their graciousness. and we're expanding on it with a giant block party. (wink.) conceived of and organized by the whitney boys (max and julien). on mozart street. right out in front of our brewpub.
and we'll have so many fun things happening. just you wait. until next friday morning. when i lay them all out. and you can't resist. leaving your home. on a friday night. which you never do anymore.
and you'll wonder why.
next friday night.
×