Ocelot Blowin' Up

Blowin’ Up is an explosively hoppy pilsner thoughtfully assembled with erudite downtown-area band Kiwi Jr. The lager precedes the arrival of the Toronto quartet’s long-awaited fourth LP… also called Blowin’ Up.

Like the album, Blowin’ Up (the beer) is a testament to patient resolve. Brewed in June utilizing entirely premium Weyermann grains – primarily the German institution’s subtle pilsner malt, with a dash of its Barke Vienna for a golden hue – the lager was given a generous two months of tank time to mature. Chinook hops were employed several times during the boil, imbuing the beer with a piney essence that nods to the Canadian IPAs that sustained the band in its earliest days.

The 4.8% lager’s dry hop, meanwhile, is “Pure Michigan”: Cascade and Saaz, both grown in the glacier-swept soil of the Great Lakes State and combining here to form a bouquet of grapefruit peel, noble spice, resin, and more pine. There’s a firm bitterness to Blowin’ Up, too. Think of it as our tribute to singer-guitarist Jeremy Gaudet’s oft-biting commentary on modernity’s hijinks.