It’s exciting to see a new addition to the lineup of packaged beer offerings here in Cincinnati, and probably even more so to have it be Urban Artifact.  I have a deep love for sour, tart ,and wild beer. Obviously having Urban Artifact move into packaging means much more of those beers in my fridge which is a very good thing.

What you need to know is that Urban Artifact is getting ready to launch their cans (and hopefully bottles very soon as well) they are kicking it off with two cans, a year-round core beer, and a seasonal from their series of fruited sours.  I suppose we should kick it off by talking about those two then, right?

Urban Artifact FinnFinn

This beer really started making waves for Urban Artifact when they got a much deserved write up in GQ’s ‘The 50 Best Things to Eat, Scarf, Sip, Spread, Slam, Savor, Scoop, Dip, Download (Yes, Download) & Drink Right Now’.  I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re going to start hearing a lot more about it now that it’s going to be more readily available.  The can is bright yellow, with a massive axe wielding warrior on the front.  A quick read gives us a little more details:

Radbod was the last of the ancient Frisian Kings.  Finn, his mythical war helmet, granted invincibility to its wearer in battle.  Respect your ancestors, share a Finn.

The small details on this can just make me smile.  They give you the abv (5.3%) and the ph rating (3.8) joined by the recommended serving temperature of 42 degrees Fahrenheit, but they also give you a very brief description of Tart-Golden-Citrusy.  This is all followed up by a full description that reads:

A meticulous blend of our cultured house lactobacillus and the fruit-forward aromatics of Mosaic & Topaz hops provide aromas of citrus & apricot, balanced by a delicate malt character and a clean tart finish.

Note: You can now read my tasting notes about this beer.

Urban Artifact SlideruleSliderule

This beer was previously known as Abacus, and is pretty unique as far as styles go – which shouldn’t surprise you from these guys.  They take their seasonal Gose rotation and give it as wintery of a twist as you can think of for a Gose – chocolate and Raspberry.  The resulting beer twists the palate into confusion and happiness.  As far as the name?  The can offers this up:

Preceding the digital calculator, the “slipstick” was a conceptually simple method for quickly multiplying and dividing.  Calculate your thirst.

The can information goes on to tell us that the beer clocks in at 4.9% ABV and 3.4ph, and that you should be serving it at 40 degrees.  The quick flavor description at the top of the can gives it a “Sour-Garnet-Luscious” and the full description reads as follows:

Fresh raspberries intermingle with velvety chocolate in our sour and salty gose base, yielding a level of decadence usually reserved for “bigger” beers.

Note: You can now read my tasting notes about this beer.

The Launch

There is a big launch event happening in the Urban Artifact taproom.  You might want to go ahead and make yourself available on December 9th, starting at 4pm for what’s going to be a very exciting time.  If you’re one of those people who can’t make it to the event, though – no worries.  The beer will be headed out to distribution beginning the week of the 12th, and there are going to be a few launch events around town to celebrate.  Keep your eye out for events at:

  • Cappy’s Loveland
  • Growler House
  • Delhi Liquor
  • Craft Pointe
  • White Oak Marathon

I’ll try to keep you up to date on all of those events as well!

What’s In The Pipeline?

This is all assumption by me… but we know that bottles are on the way from Urban Artifact.  They have been busting their asses to get their barrel aged sours online, and from what I hear, they are not only really close, but tasting fantastic as well.  I anticipate that we’re going to start seeing those in the coming months.

What’s also exciting is to start speculating on what cans we’ll see from the brewery in the future.  Their addition of a seasonal into their lineup gets me really pumped to think about some of their phenomenal fruited goses in cans.  Keypunch?  Chariot?  Freaking Pinwheel?  My goodness… this could get really awesome.

Keep those eyes peeled – and as always, Be Gnarly.

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