To support Friends of Grand Rapids Parks and their Urban Tree-PLanting Project, 17 local breweries created tree-inspired beers that they will be selling August 4-10. Purchase of the special beers raises money to increase the tree canopy in every part of the city.
Breweries have been experimenting with ingredients such as maple, oak and cherry.
“Harmony is brewing a beer named Dryad Ale after the spirits of the trees in Greek mythology. The first week of August is the height of summer, so we thought a light bodied refreshing beer would be in order. We created a golden ale with slight noble hop bitterness. Then we infused the beer twice with Linden Flowers that we collected from Wilcox Park. The linden flower has a very unique honeysuckle/nutmeg aroma that hung thick in the air around Eastown for a few weeks this early summer. We were hoping to capture some of that essence,” say Barry Vandyke of Harmony Brewing.
Look to event signs hung around the city for more information and details about what beers breweries are featuring. The event poster was created by Woosah, a local company that produces nature-inspired art and apparel. Owners Brooke Ruble and Erica Rae Lang were approached by Harmony Brewing to create event an poster because of their previous work featuring trees.
"Harmony was looking for a tree theme so we showed them some references of trees we had done in the past and they really liked the vibe. We took aspects of some of our old designs and added a new flare to them. Harmony was pretty set on the overall idea with the tree wrapping around a beer glass. But we really wanted them to look like they were interactive so we focused a lot on the roots around the glass and shading to make it look very integrated. Everything was hand drawn by us,” says Ruble.
Kick off for the Brewer’s Grove Beer event will take place August 5 at Harmony Brewing at 4:30 pm. The fundraising event culminates with a tree planting on October 17 at Riverside Park. An open container permit has been permitted for the event, so those in attendance are encouraged to bring a growler or howler of their favorite tree-inspired beer.
Many of the participating breweries plan to hold parties and special release nights for the occasion.
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