Christmas is a time of forgiveness, fellowship and good feeling, and London brewery Forest Road is ready to bury the hatchet with execs from beer conglomerate AB InBev.
Owner Pete Brown, who founded Forest Road in 2015, has issued an open invitation to his South London brewery tomorrow evening (7th December, from 6.30pm) to try the latest batch of Jupiter, a delicious double IPA.
AB InBev tried to prevent Forest Road from using the word Jupiter earlier this year on the grounds that it sounds like their product Jupiler, a lager brewed almost exclusively for the Belgian market.
Given that Jupiler is virtually unknown in the UK, it looked like a classic case of corporate narcissism. AB InBev rapidly backtracked on its objection when London’s beer community took to social media, shocked that the corporate giant assumed beer drinkers would not be able to tell the difference between a made-up word and a planet.
“We were amazed when we heard about their objection, and not amazed when we discovered they’d backed off,” said Pete. “But we don’t like bad feelings, so we’d love to see them down here to taste the beer. Who knows? They might enjoy a reminder of what great beer tastes like.”
First brewed in December last year, Jupiter is inspired by the street Forest Road’s brewery is based on — Juno Way, in SE14 — and by the original home of the brewery’s equipment, Russian River, one of the USA’s greatest craft breweries.
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Jupiter, a special annual release, is an 8.7% ABV double IPA and the closest you’ll get to that classic Californian IPA flavour this side of Santa Rosa, says the brewer.
“Piney and floral hop notes burst through the smooth, almost marshmallow-foam head,” says Forest Road’s head of tastebud relations, Ellie Woods. “On the palate, the body of the beer is full, with rich fruitcake notes, which are cut and balanced with hop bitterness, tingling carbonation, and throat-warming alcohol.”
Tomorrow’s event, which is open to all, will also feature live heavy metal, complementary barbecue, and much more besides. Register here for a free ticket. If you can’t make it, the beer will be on draughtt at the brewery’s three venues: the brewery itself, the Hackney Taproom, and Forest Road’s new pub in West London, The Quiet Night Inn.
It’s also available in 330ml cans from the brewery website: for 25% off, use the discount code JUPITERNOTJUPILER at checkout, until midnight on 7th December.
“We’re so excited for people to try this beer,” said Pete. “It sums up what we’re all about — flavour, quality and not doing what the global conglomerates tell you to.”
