Last year, Philly’s own G. Love, of ‘90s jam band G. Love & Special Sauce, debuted his very own beer with Oregon’s GoodLife Brewing Co., but the beer didn’t see distribution to the musician’s hometown. Finally, Philly will get a taste of a new brew from the Society Hill native.
G. Love’s latest beer with GoodLife, Special Sauce the Juice IPA, comes to the Philadelphia area for the first time starting in early to mid-September via local craft wholesaler Shangy’s, a representative confirmed. The beer, Shangy’s said, will be available at Philly-area bars and bottle shops on draught and in six-packs of 12-ounce cans, which will run about $15.
Brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, Comet, Mandarina Bavaria, and Mosaic hops for a juicy, citrusy punch, the beer weighs in at 6.8% ABV, and is currently rated at 3.8 out of five stars on beer-rating site Untappd. It was initially announced for GoodLife’s usual distribution areas in April, and takes its name from a Forthcoming solo album from G. Love, real name Garrett Dutton.
While GoodLife, based out of Bend, Ore., does not have distribution in the Philadelphia area regularly, it’s latest G. Love beer comes to town via a partnership between Shangy’s and Brew Pipeline’s Guest Brewer Program. Launched earlier this year, the effort allows breweries, for a limited time, to explore distribution in markets in which they do not regularly appear.
“The new [beer] consumer wants new beer. They constantly want to try the next new beer,” Shangy’s owner Nima Hadian told the Inquirer. “Guest Brewer is a fantastic opportunity for beer consumers and retailers to get beers people have only read about.”
As part of their work with Guest Brewers, Shangy’s will also bring beers from Surly Brewing Co. and Alphabet City Beer Co. to the Philadelphia area next month. The idea, Hadian said, is to build a long-term relationship with new breweries in order to continuing offering their beers to the region on a more regular basis.
G. Love’s previous beer, Special Sauce Danky Dankster, was also an IPA, but featured a few different varieties of hops, as well as a slightly higher alcohol content. The brew was available to Philly-area folks only through the Tavour beer delivery service, but this time around, we should be able to get G. Love’s latest liquid effort at local watering holes.
“We’re excited about the beer, and love that there are Philadelphia ties,” Hadian said. “Music and beer have always worked well together.”