San Francisco, CA – Ferment.Drink.Repeat will honor the men and women who have died while serving in the U.S. military with the release of “Fallen Comrade” for Memorial Day Weekend.
The beer was inspired by the desire of owner and brewer Kevin Inglin (himself a Veteran and Army retired Lt. Col. who served in both OIF and OEF) to remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to our Nation and to also remind people of the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
“As a service member, each year around Memorial Day people would thank me for my service. While appreciated, I also always felt a little guilty because the true purpose of the day is to remember those who are no longer with us. Veterans Day is the appropriate day to thank our current service members and retirees, but Memorial Day is really the day to reflect on the brave souls who never came back from storming the beaches of Normandy, or to remember the Marines who died in the streets of Fallujah, Iraq – it’s those people who gave all to protect our freedoms, and the reason why we all enjoy a bit of time off this weekend to spend with friends, family, and loved ones.” Inglin said.
A Red Ale, “Fallen Comrade” contains attributes of the “Fallen Comrade Table,” a military tradition wherein a place-setting is arranged to honor the military deceased at formal military gatherings. These attributes include the red color, to symbolize the blood that has been shed on the battlefield, lemon peel to signify the bitter fate of the fallen, and salt to reflect the tears that have been shed by loved ones left behind.
“I felt it was important to incorporate the Fallen Comrade Table tradition into the beer because the symbolism is so significant,” Inglin stated. “We plan to set up a Fallen Comrade Table in the brewery for the Memorial Day Weekend as a way to share that noble tradition with a wider audience, and hopefully to help people connect to the weekend and its meaning on a deeper level. As for the beer itself, it is very approachable and easy to drink – a beverage I can certainly envision our service members sharing with one another after a long, grueling deployment in remembrance of those who didn’t make the trip home with them.”
FDR will donate a portion of proceeds from the sale of Fallen Comrade Friday through Sunday to The Memory Box Project (www.memoryboxproject.org), an organization based out of Paso Robles dedicated to making hand-crafted heirlooms for the families of the fallen. The brewery will be closed Monday to observe Memorial Day at the Presidio and to spend time with family.