Castle Island Brewing Company has teamed up with Boston-based skate shop Orchard to create CASTLE CRUISER, a 5.0% ABV dry-hopped pilsner perfect for the return of spring and skate season. You can find limited amounts of this beer at select bars and liquor stores throughout Massachusetts beginning this week, as well as special co-branded hats, tees, hooded sweatshirts and an online skate deck pre-order available at both Orchard’s online and physical stores and Castle Island Brewing’s two taproom locations in Norwood and South Boston beginning today, Friday, April 8th, at noon EST.
With Castle Island Brewing’s second taproom opening in September of 2021 and Orchard cutting the ribbon for their North End storefront last month, the two teams had a lot of common ground as a jumping off point for this collaboration, but a moment of fate sealed the deal.
“This past winter I was in line at my local package store waiting to purchase a 4-pack of (Castle Island’s pale ale) Candlepin, one of my go-to after work refreshments;” said Orchard owner Armin Bachman. “I noticed their new branding uses a similar font as Orchard and got lost in a daydream about getting the opportunity to work with a local brewery on a project. The next day, in a moment of serendipitous manifestation, we got an email from longtime friend of the shop Ray (Trotta, Creative Designer for CIBC) asking if we would be down to collaborate on a beer together…the timing was unreal!”
Bachmann continues, “We have a personal connection with every brand we carry at the shop, and we couldn’t be more stoked to work with Ray and the Castle Island team on our first beer collaboration.”
Creative designer for Castle Island, Ray Trotta, spearheaded the effort to combine two worlds he’s so familiar with: craft beer and skateboarding.
“About 14 years ago, I made my way into the original Orchard shop in Mission Hill for the first time. From then on, I’d always go there for new gear. I met a ton of friends skating their ramp and attending their art shows back in the day,” Trotta said. “Knowing nothing pairs better after a long session skating with friends than a few cold ones, we reached out and asked if Armin and the Orchard crew wanted to collaborate on a beer together. We ended up creating the vision for Castle Cruiser together and I’m so glad to see it finally come to life.”
An easy drinking stretch-in-a-can for the weekend warrior warm-up or after session cool-down, this crispy Italian-style Pilsner combines a classic malt bill with the perfect touch of Huell Melon and Saphir hops. To learn more about the collaboration, visit castleislandbeer.com.
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