What is beer about? This is a really, really big question, and one that I hope more drinkers, more owners and more brewery workers start to explore – heavily.

You can catch glimpses of the beauty of it all from time to time, and you can also catch glimpses of the other side of things… Pickle? Pickle is an amazing example of the reason that we do all this – the reason that we snag new releases, and the reason that drinking beer with friends is important… let’s take a quick journey back though, so you know what I’m talking about.

Where’d It Come From?

This all started back in 2015. No-one knew what we were in for, either, not even the brilliant minds at Urban Artifact who created this beer. It was sort of a joke, in fact. You see… it started with the idea of throwing an event called the 12 beers of Christmas – as massive fans of holiday beers – it was just an excuse to crank out some creative, fun things that would enable folks to hang out with their friends and family who were in town and try some fun stuff that was a little off the wall, and not what you expect.

They nailed it, to say the least.

Pickle slowly built itself into a cult favorite, and the most asked about release from the brewery. So much so that it returned for 2016’s holiday season with its Spicy variant…

And then it hit cans for the summer of 2017, which created one of the biggest runaway hits that this city (and the brewery) have ever seen. It was the perfect grilling beer, and a summertime staple.

The Move

2020 was big for pickle. They debuted the pickle pack – returned with barrel-aged pickle – and of course the staple beer itself which sold out very, very quickly. It was a new era.

However… there is something that has been lost with pickle when it’s released in the summer. I’m not saying that pickle isn’t a good summer beer, its an incredible summer beer, in fact. When you’re grilling out burgers there is little than can compare. But that’s not the point of pickle.

Pickle is fun.

The brewery recently announced that the beer is making a move back to its roots this year. It will be dropping on November 4th at noon with a new look, and the return of ‘Xmas Pickle’.

Here’s what I want you to keep in mind with this beer. The point of this beer (and a lot of beers) is to hang out with your friends and family (we remember what that’s like, right?) drink it together, laugh, talk about it… and enjoy the experience. We get far too lost in the geekiness, the seriousness and the normalcy of craft beer these days. One of the biggest reasons that I love Urban Artifact is the idea that you can create world class beer, stuff that people marvel at – and you can still do it in a fun way, often without taking yourself too seriously.

Stick around – I’m gonna talk about this beer more before the end of the year. In the meantime, you should be following Urban Artifact via their website (or social media) to learn everything about them as soon as you can!