Drake’s Brewing has been serving the San Francisco Bay area for many years with its assortment of quality, well- crafted suds. Now, the brewery is launching one of its beers in cans for the first time. The beer is Kick Back IPA, an India Pale Ale with session qualities, formulated for those times when you need a break from work and life.
Kick Back IPA will be available in 12 oz. cans immediately and the occasion marks the first time Drake’s Brewing has canned one of its products. Kick Back IPA was first released as a summer seasonal in 2016 and during its short life span, it has been available only in bottles and on draft. Drake’s Brewmaster John Gillooly says the decision to christen Kick Back IPA as the first Drake’s beer packaged in metal was an easy one given the beer’s growing popularity.
“The response to Kick Back IPA since we launched the beer in 2016 has been phenomenal, and it’s the perfect choice for our first can release,” says Gillooly. “The beer is crisp, crushable, and filled with a ton of juicy hop flavor. It also pairs very nicely with a variety of food, from seared ahi tuna steak to fried chicken. I’ll be taking cans everywhere I go this summer.”
Kick Back IPA is an excellent choice for daily drinking, but choosing this year- round product over others is significant in another way. It will help fund the Drake’s Brewing partnership with the Regional Parks Foundation, a non- profit organization that supports the East Bay Regional Parks District. A portion of six- pack sales of Kick Back IPA are donated to the cause and, since the beer’s release, nearly $20,000 has been given to this important non- profit. Juliana Schirmer, Director at the Regional Parks Foundation, says the money has benefitted the organization in countless ways.
“The money has been a huge plus. The Kick Back Program has also helped us branch out and engage the community in a new way”, says Schirmer. “We’re attracting a younger demographic, a demographic we know loves and uses our parks, and many of them are beer enthusiasts! We even started the ‘What’s Brewin in the Parks?’ event series as a way to carry this success through the full year,” Schirmer added.
Drake’s Kick Back IPA is a session beer containing a modest 4.3 percent alcohol by volume. The beer overflows with floral, citrus, tropical, and stone fruit flavors and is brewed using a blend of Cascade, Chinook, Mosaic, Simcoe, El Dorado and Pekko hops. Malts include Two-Row and Pale Ale malt, with small amounts of Golden Naked Oats and Hulled Barley Flakes.
Drake’s Brewing has thrilled Bay Area residents since 1989 with its penchant for quality beer and with Kick Back IPA now packaged in cans, craft beer fans can enjoy Drake’s beer sipped from the safety of a metal container and transport their beer to more places. Look for Kick Back IPA immediately in retail outlets where Drake’s beer is presently sold.
Leave a Reply