Yahoo Finance Kentucky brewery, Grammy-nominated rap group make a beer to promote music education
One of Kentucky’s top breweries and hip-hop groups are teaming up to create a new special beer promoting further development of the state’s music industry.
Grammy-nominated rap quartet Nappy Roots and Georgetown-based Country Boy Brewing plan to release Backroads Blackberry Berliner at the Kentucky Craft Bash in Louisville on June 26. All proceeds will go to the Kentucky Institute for Music Industry Development, a non-profit founded by Nappy Roots with a mission of recruiting, developing, educating and inspiring creatives seeking a career in the music industry.
Backroads Blackberry Berliner will be available the day after Kentucky Craft Bash at Country Boy’s Lexington and Georgetown taprooms.
Named after Nappy Roots recent song “Backroads” about simpler times in band member Fish Scales’ hometown of Milledgeville, Ga. (the group’s only member not from Kentucky), the brew is refreshing and ideal for summertime, exactly what Country Boy co-owner Daniel Harrison envisioned when concocting it.
“We wanted something fruity, light and a bit tart for summer so we went with a Berliner Weisse infused with the best Kentucky blackberries we could find,” said Harrison. “The beer is a representation of what we at Country Boy envision for the rest of 2021 which is positivity and fun times reconnecting with family and friends.”
Nappy Roots partnership with Country Boy is far from the group’s first foray into beer. Previously the foursome has created drinks with Louisville’s Against The Grain, Frankfort’s Sig Luscher Brewing and Hapeville, Ga.’s Arches Brewing.
How Nappy Roots choose to work with Country Boy
Their latest collaboration came about after being contacted recently by Derek Selznick, executive director for the Kentucky Guild of Brewers, about working with another local brewery on a beer to be tapped at the annual Kentucky Craft Bash organized by the Guild.
To determine the brewery they’d work with, Ron Clutch and B. Stille of Nappy Roots sat down one afternoon with a cooler full of growler’s featuring various Kentucky beers. After sampling a shot glass worth of each (any more would taint their palettes), the two landed on Country Boy due to the clean taste and profound flavor profiles of their beers. They also thought the brewery was well suited to handle the production, marketing and distribution needed to make the collaboration a success.
After ironing out the details Fish Scales, Skinny DeVille, B.Stille, and Ron Clutch of Nappy Roots joined Country Boy’s brew team at their Lexington facility in late May to get an inside look at the in-progress production of Backroads Blackberry Berliner, at times even stepping in to help stir the mash.
“When Fish Scales and Skinny (DeVille) showed up they both had work boots on and jumped right in,” said Harrison. “There was no sitting around. They were all sweating by the time it was said and done. They wanted to be hands-on and a part of the entire process.”
Added Clutch, “Once you get a few collaborations under your belt you start to get a bit of a following. People start to respect you once they see you in there chopping the hops and pitching the yeast.”
Nappy Roots has a history with brewing
Much like their music, Nappy Roots’ beer collaborations have earned them quite the following. So much so that the group recently opened their own brewery, Atlantucky Brewing, in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Named for the two homes where the group resides (Louisville and Atlanta), the idea of launching their own brick-and-mortar brewery built up from seeing other micro-brewing setups during their 20-plus years of performing.
“After soundchecking at many of the clubs we’d grab a drink and often find out that it was brewed in-house,” said Clutch. “Out of curiosity we started asking each time what kind it was which led to us trying every kind imaginable and getting taken back to look at specific setups. That eventually led to Fish Scales getting into home-brewing from his garage, and from there things have only continued to grow.”
Nappy Roots plans to be on-site at this weekend’s Kentucky Craft Bash in Louisville promoting Backroads Blackberry Berliner, Atlantucky Brewing, their upcoming album “Forty+,” meeting with fans and networking with industry professionals. In addition to Country Boy, nearly 50 other breweries will be set up during the event.
Matt Wickstrom is a freelancer covering food, music and more. You can follow him on Instagram at @WickstromWrites .
Kentucky Craft Bash
When: June 26 from 12-5 p.m.
Tickets: $10 for designated drivers and $55 for general admission
Where: 231 East Witherspoon St, Louisville
Online: KyCraftBash.com
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @KYGBrewers
