Bent Water Brewing Company, the award-winning craft brewery from Lynn, Massachusetts, this week announced the release of Primordial Haze, a hazy tropical IPA brewed with Phantasm Powder and featuring a trio of the brewery’s iconic gorillas on the label.
Primordial Haze was first released in a limited capacity last fall. Based on consumer response, the brewery decided to increase the barrelage in 2023. According to Aaron Reames, co-founder and president of Bent Water Brewing, Primordial Haze is a great example of the brewery’s ongoing commitment to innovation and execution of the highest quality beers.
“Phantasm Powder is still relatively new to many breweries; we were actually one of the first to use it on the East Coast when we brewed Primordial last year,” said Reames. “Phantasm Powder is an extraction made from Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc grape skins. When added correctly to the fermentation process, it can really help unlock strong tropical fruit aromas. I’ve been making and enjoying beers for decades — Primordial Haze might have the biggest nose of any beer I’ve ever tasted!”
In addition to the liquid, Reames and his team agree that the label, created by co-founder and creative director Michael Shaugnessy, is among the brewery’s most dynamic.
“If you know anything about Bent Water Brewing, you’ve probably noticed we have a thing for gorillas,” joked Shaugnessy, whose extensive experience includes a prior role as art director at Hill Holiday. “But the gorillas on our labels actually tell a pretty good story and are completely intentional. Our first Double IPA, Double Thunder Funk, made me think of two gorillas colliding head-on, which became the inspiration for that label. With the use of Phantasm Powder and a slew of hops in Primordial Haze, I thought about a mad scientist’s experiment that wound up producing a third gorilla – and that’s how it showed up on the label.”
The brewery’s gorilla-craze extends beyond the visual branding on beer cans. For the past year, two costumed gorillas – affectionately referred to by the team as Thunder and Funk – have been spotted everywhere from the brewery taproom to ski slopes in New Hampshire and, most recently, to the crowded, Halloween-festive streets and taverns of Salem, Massachusetts.
Primordial Haze will be available exclusively in the Bent Water taproom on draught and to-go starting on Friday, October 20. It will be rolled out into select distribution regions by the end of the month.
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