Pizza Port Brewing Co. and Stone Brewing announce the release of their limited collaboration beer, BFF (Beer Friends Forever) San Diego Pale Ale. This summertime seasonal release celebrates decades of bromance that helped propel the two San Diego-based breweries to top of the hop pack. The collaboration beer will be offered in six-packs and draft through September and will be distributed across California, Arizona, and Nevada starting Saturday, June 23, 2018.
The two breweries share a rich history more than 20 years in the making. The long-standing friendship was founded by a shared love for craft beer and kept alive through continual engagement and collaboration. “In July of 1996, we were so excited to serve beer from Stone Brewing that Vince drove his truck to pick up their very first keg and we tapped it at Pizza Port that same night,” said Pizza Port Co-Owner Gina Marsaglia. This beer celebrates the past, present, and future of all beer friendships, and the importance of camaraderie within the craft beer industry.
“Vince and Gina have been great friends, and a part of Stone’s success over the past 22 years. I remember Pizza Port Solana Beach tapping our first ever keg of beer on July 26, 1996, and standing there for over an hour waiting for the first pint or pitcher to be ordered, hopping that someone had maybe read about us and was interested in trying a beer from this new brewery,” reminisced Greg Koch, Stone Brewing executive chairman & co-founder. “Today we have a different story to tell as the interest in our beers has escalated significantly! We wouldn’t be here without our friends in craft brewing. This collaboration honors our years of mutual support, and all the pints along the way. Can you honor beers enjoyed with friends by brewing a beer with friends? We say yes!”
The BFF (Beer Friends Forever) San Diego Pale Ale can artwork depicts four surfers, representing the four friends (co-founders of Pizza Port Brewing Co., Vince and Gina Marsaglia and co-founders of Stone Brewing, Greg Koch and Steve Wagner), who have produced decades worth of beer inspired by creativity, passion, independence and community.
Cheers to Beer Friends Forever! BFF San Diego Pale Ale will be available this Saturday at all @pizzaportbrewingco brewpubs at 11am. pic.twitter.com/fv9BSz1CPM
— Pizza Port Brewing Co. (@PizzaPortBeer) June 21, 2018
“The beer is a modern take on an English Pale Ale. Maris Otter barley gives the beer a rich, but clean, malt background. London III yeast with New Zealand, American, and English hops provide flavors of passion fruit, oro blanco grapefruit, and earthy tangerine peel,” said Pizza Port Director of Brewing Operations Sean Farrell.
“It’s very cool to brew with the Pizza Port crew and Sean, who was at Stone when I started back in 2004,” stated Jeremy Moynier, Stone Brewing senior innovation brewing manager. “Taking inspiration from our original Stone Pale Ale (that first keg sold to Pizza Port!), and combining both of our breweries’ histories with our continuing innovative practices, we crafted a very unique Pale Ale showcasing a nod to the past with a firm view to the future. A mix of English, New Zealand, and newer American hops creates a complex mix of aromas and flavors, combined with a perfectly crisp and complementary malt background.”
