Craft-y Beer: Craft Beer Fools Around on April Fools

Ron DeGregorio

April 1st is everyone’s worst nightmare. We already live in a world where you can’t trust anyone; but April 1st gives everyone a hall-pass to do whatever-the-hell they want to do under the guise of April Fools Day. In a normal society, most people would limit their foolishness to silly jokes and pranks, like the classic whoopie cushion, or an air-horn under the office chair – fun stuff- stuff that everyone can laugh at! But in this twisted and sick world we live in, some go just too damn far. Some people, like myself and old college roommates use April First as the date in which the annual prank-civil-war begins. Like the Hunger Games, nobody is safe, and almost nothing is off limits. Pranks range from peeing in a zip-lock bag, freezing it into a pee-cake, sliding it under the door, and allowing it to melt in eachother’s rooms, to placing Jolly Ranchers in the shower head for a sticky/sweet surprise that only Def Leppard could love – all the way to burying a Jeep Cherokee LITERALLY under snow -yes, we take April Fools day too seriously.

The craft beer scene is by no means immune from this April Fools trickery. April 1st saw more than a few hilarious pranks pulled by craft beer breweries Sam Adams, Stone, Right Brain and more!

Sam Adams and Stone must have been riding the same brain waves, because their pranks were eerily similar; Helium beers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxj2GpSzIC0

I have to appreciate the seriousness and well-craftedness of the pranks. If you didn’t know any better, they could honestly pass for legitimate ventures, especially Stone’s, considering the other outrageous beers they attempt to make! I mean, Stone even included a press release for their Helium ale and included statistics about the “light” beverage (see what I did there?)

“Stone Stochasticity Project Cr(He)am Ale with Helium Quick Facts
Name: Stone Stochasticity Project Cr(He)am Ale with Helium
URL: http://www.stochasticity.com/beers/crheam
Stats: 4.1% ABV, 75 IBUs
Availability: Limited 16-ounce cans, beginning April 1
Hops Bill: Willamette and Fuggles, dry-hopped with Helga
Special addition: Helium
Distribution: AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, and WA”

Fake beers were not the end of the April Fools Day madness, however. One of my favorite craft breweries, Right Brain Brewing, out of Traverse City, Michigan, had a couple of pranks of their own!

Hilarious! You can just see how much fun these guys are having, and if you have never been to Right Brain, let me tell you, they are all about fun!

Another wonderful April Fools Prank came in the form of Engineering Ingenuity! How convenient would it be for us as consumers to finish a can of beer, and then have it magically refill itself? Well, the folks over at Cask Brewing Systems have created just that product!

– I should interject that I am actually highly upset than none of these beers or products are actually real. It’s a little heart breaking to think that we live in a world that doesn’t include voice-changing beer.

I think it is really awesome that craft beer can poke fun at itself from time to time for the enjoyment of their fans and friends. I believe April Fools Day in the craft beer world is a perfect example of what beer is supposed to be all about; fun, and these guys and gals certainly are having some.

Cheers!