Sometimes the greatest of things aren’t able to reach their full potential without a bit of metamorphosis. Call to Arms Brewing’s beloved Dark Czech Lager, which was originally known as “Shirtless Putin Catchin’ Rays,” has now officially been rebranded as “Operation Steingrabber.” Remaining as one of the brewery’s mainstay flagship offerings, “Operation Steingrabber” is still the same great-tasting roasty, malty, old-world Dark Lager featuring a touch of toasted malt profile, that finishes with a crisp clean finish, but now with a lot less evil dictator vibes.
In light of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Denver-based brewery decided it was time to ditch the name “Shirtless Putin Catchin’ Rays” and instead shift back to its pop-culture inspired motif, this time referencing the 2006 critically acclaimed classic movie “Beerfest” in which Team Germany plots to retrieve a stolen recipe from Team USA for the best beer ever produced in their home country.
While the Shirtless Putin series’ original intent was to serve as a pointed criticism of Russian propaganda, the brewery did not want the name to be misconstrued in any way as supporting the Russian president or his actions.
“As Russia’s attacks on the Ukrainian people began escalating, we no longer felt it was appropriate to reference Putin on our beers regardless of the original intent of the series,” explained Call to Arms founder, Chris Bell. “And while re-branding a flagship beer can be difficult, we felt “Operation Steingrabber” pays homage to the beer’s old-world roots, while also remaining on-brand in our desire not to take ourselves too seriously.”
During the transition into new packaging, Call to Arms teamed up with their wholesale partner, Two Six Craft Distributors to donate $1 from every six pack sold from the Dark Czech Lager that featured the old labels to UNICEF’s children of Ukraine fund.
Call to Arms Releases Whiney the Millennial Raspberry Rice Lager
Shifting from an old-world classic style to a more contemporary theme, Call to Arms has also released “Whiney the Millennial,” a Raspberry Rice Lager brewed with nearly 200 pounds of raspberry purée and puffed jasmine rice. As a nod to a modern-day legend of the beer world, “Whiney the Millennial” also pokes fun at today’s Millennial culture of always seeking out the newest, fresh, hype thing to latch onto.
Call to Arms previously brewed an early experimental iteration of this beer featuring sake yeast and dried raspberry. And while they loved that initial version, “Whiney the Millennial” features Call to Arms’ house lager yeast and an abundance of fresh raspberry puree. “We loved our Sake version, but really wanted to rice and the fruit to stand on its own.”
The result is a bright, refreshing, fruit beer that balances a bit of tartness from the raspberry while still finishing crisp, clean, and refreshing for the summer months.
“‘Whiney the Millennial’ is the exactly the kind of beer we love drinking by the pool, or taking to the park for a picnic,” said Bell. “We just recommend that drinkers put down their phones and simply enjoy because no one really cares about your beer photos on Instagram.”
Call to Arms Brewing Releases Narnia of Partya Kiwi Hefeweizen
In advance of this year’s 2022 Pride Month celebrations, Call to Arms Brewing is excited to announce the release of Narnia of Partya, a Kiwi Hefeweizen which will serve as this year’s official beer for the brewery’s Pride Fest Weekend.
Narnia of Partya first made its debut during last year’s Pride Month celebrations and was so popular that it will be receiving full distribution via the 16oz can format for the first time this year. “We had been wanting to brew a Hefeweizen for a while now,” said Bell. “Playing off of the style’s natural banana esters, we decided to add kiwi to build a flavor profile that many of us really enjoy.”
Taking place June 25, Call to Arms’ 2022 Pride Fest will feature a Pride Parade that will extend down the alleyways of Tennyson Street culminating with a grand celebration back at Call to Arms. After the parade the party will continue with a performance from Hey Lady, a B52’s Tribute Band, and all day long, 10% of beer sales will go toward supporting a local LGBTQ+ non-profit organization.
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