The Happy Hour Guys and Gun Hill Brewing Company’s Curtain Up Beer has now brought nearly 60 other breweries along on their journey to raise money for the arts community in wake of the pandemic. Yes, it’s another pandemic charity beer, but with a purpose near and dear to New York: protecting the arts community.
The Happy Hour Guys, Jimmy Ludwig and Mark Aldrich, are both Broadway actors themselves, and many of their peers have been out of work for nearly a year as a result of Covid-19. They paired up with Bronx-based Gun Hill, who previously worked with them on the first beer in their charitable Broadway Brews Project, to develop a single beer recipe for any brewery to brew with the pledge that they’ll donate to The Actors Fund and a local arts organization in need of support.
The beer itself is a Hazy IPA with Citra hops, dry-hopped with Citra, Centennial, Azacca, and Amarillo hops. Among the breweries in New York City joining Gun Hill in the effort are Big Alice Brewing and Flagship Brewery, who’ve already dropped their versions of the beer. 18th Ward, Circa, Endless Life, Five Boroughs, Keg & Lantern, Rockaway, and Sixpoint are all on board, too. Keep an eye out for those releases later this winter and in the spring.
If you’re looking to get your hands on several of these at once, the official kickoff event for the beer, the Drink Like a Girl X Curtain Up Backyard Brewfest, is one easy way to do it. The virtual beer fest will take place on March 27th and includes 15 cans of the beer along with other goodies that you can pick up at various spots across New York State the prior week, including in Queens at Big aLICe Brewing. Tickets start at $125, with proceeds going to support musicians and Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre.
