Asheville, NC – Asheville Brewing Company will release two British band-inspired beers, Strawberry Pils Forever and Baba O’Rye Beer, in conjunction with British Invasion Week, presented by Asheville Pizza Company and The Orange Peel. The special beer releases, film screenings, and concerts will take place January 18 through January 23, culminating with two shows by renowned Beatles tribute band, Abbey Road Live, at The Orange Peel.
Strawberry Pils Forever, a special ale brewed with Pilsner malt and infused with strawberry puree, will be released on draft on Monday, January 18. This 5.2 percent ABV brew is light and bubbly, much like The Fab Four when they first performed in the U.S. in the 1960s.
Baba O’Rye Beer, inspired by The Who’s famous song, is a dark ale brewed with 20 percent rye and German dark malt, creating a beer deep in color yet extraordinarily smooth (6.4 percent ABV). This second British Invasion beer will be released on Wednesday, January 20, to coincide with the evening screening of “Tommy” at Asheville Pizza Company.
Both beers will be on draught at all Asheville Brewing Company locations, The Orange Peel, and elsewhere within Asheville Brewing’s distribution footprint.
“I’ve always wanted to make beers to honor some of my favorite British bands. They changed things forever, musically and culturally, when they invaded with rock ‘n roll in the 60s,” says Mike Rangel, president of Asheville Brewing Company. “Plus there are some great films that we are excited about seeing on the big screen. Who doesn’t want to watch ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ while drinking a Strawberry Pils Forever?”
British Invasion Week includes the following events:
- Monday, January 18: 5 p.m. Beer Release #1, Strawberry Pils Forever. | 7 p.m. “A Hard Day’s Night” screening.
- Tuesday, January 19: 7 p.m. “Gimme Shelter” screening.
- Wednesday, January 20: 5 p.m. Beer Release #2, Baba O’Rye Beer. | 7 p.m. “Tommy” screening.
- Thursday, January 21: 7 p.m. “Across the Universe” screening.
- Friday, January 22: 8 p.m. Abbey Road Live at The Orange Peel.
- Saturday, January 23: Noon Abbey Road Live Kid’s Show at The Orange Peel. First 100 kids get a free T-shirt.
All movie screenings take place at Asheville Pizza & Brewing Company. Cost all week is $3 per person or get in free with a donation of warm clothing.
About Asheville Brewing Company:
Asheville’s third craft brewery opened in 1998 as a mash-up pizza joint, second-run movie theater, and brewpub, all wrapped up in a bright, happy, family-friendly space. The brewpub’s popularity with both locals and visitors enabled a second location, including a 15-barrel brewhouse, to open in downtown Asheville in 2006. Asheville Brewing installed Western North Carolina’s first in-house canning line in 2011. The Merrimon Avenue mothership’s original 7-barrel system recently joined the Coxe Avenue brewery, consolidating all brewing operations under one roof. The brew crew is on track to produce 8,000 barrels of beer in 2015, up from 1,200 barrels in 2011. Asheville Brewing Company’s flagship and one-off brews are distributed in 12-ounce cans, on draft, and in special release 22-ounce bottles throughout Western North Carolina, Charlotte, and a few other NC cities.