Broadway's history-themed hit musical Hamilton can be considered revolutionary in many rights. Since its debut last August, it's provoked a much-needed discussion about race in theater casting, pioneered the use of rap on the big stage and pushed desperate fans to extreme measures to snag forever sold-out tickets. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that the show's notoriety will spill into the craft suds scene as NYC-based brewery Gun Hill Brewing Co. launches the Rise Up Rye, a brand new bottle inspired entirely by the show.
Set to debut on Saturday at the brewery's Bronx, NY tasting room, the beer is a collaboration with actors Mark Aldrich and Jimmy Ludwig, also the creators of the beverage-themed web series the Happy Hour Guys. According to Gun Hill Brewing Co. co-founder Dave Lopez, the brewery was an obvious choice for the duo because of its Revolutionary War theme (the namesake, Gun Hill Road, was a key thoroughfare contested by British soldiers and American colonists). Rye was chosen, fittingly, as the principle ingredient given its "prominence as a crop in New York agriculture 300 years ago." The result is a bright and dry Belgian-style saison laced with fruity hop flavors like peach and apricot.
Starting Sunday, the brew will be sold at $12-$15 at dozens of NYC bars (Bronx Beer Hall, Randolph Beer), as well as in Westchester, NY. Lopez says the team hopes to expand that offering to additional states after its first run. A portion of sales will go towards Graham Windham, a child welfare non-profit founded in 1806 by a group of women who included Alexander Hamilton's widow Elizabeth Hamilton.
Rise Up Rye at Gun Hill Brewing Co.Photograph: Jimmy Ludwig