Organic Pink Beer Takes Over Santa Cruz

No it’s not some psychedelic hallucination. Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing just released their Organic Olallieberry Cream Ale to the resounding delight of their beer loving customers and to the slight dismay of the company’s hardcore brewers.

“I don’t do FRUIT BEERS!” exclaimed brewer, Nick Thomas when he got wind of the new recipe. The rest of the brew crew dreamt up the idea one night back in February, while sipping Fruit Lambics at the local pub, 99Bottles. “I want to do something with Olallieberries. They are delicious and scream ‘Santa Cruz’” said Chad Brill, another brewer.

The idea may have been born back in February but didn’t make it to the kettle until a few weeks ago when Nick Thomas’ mom showed up at the brewery with a couple of bags of fresh picked berries. Olallieberries are only ripe for a short window during the month of July. With the success of this batch, the brewery intends to find frozen sources of organic Olallieberries so they can keep the beer flowing all year round.

Olallieberry Cream Ale is not as pink as you would expect, but hold it up to light and behold the presence of the purple berry. Be prepared to be amazed. The aroma will conjure up notions of pie and jam and all things berry. The creaminess of the ale is due to a mixture of rice, barley and wheat; complimenting the tartness of the berry and finishing like wine. Your senses will be surprised but this is not a guzzling beer. Coming in at 7% alcohol content, this pink beast will knock you down before you can spell olallieberry.

While no official names have been agreed upon, Olallie Bomb is favored around the brewery. There are no plans to bottle it right now, but you can sample it at the Tasting Room and take a growler to go. The new tasting bar has 9 taps where you can sample the brewery’s six flagship ales as well as the Poverty Porter (a coffee enhanced elixir), the Brillst Imperial Red, and the brand new Olallieberry Cream Ale.