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California Wild Ales Announces Second Annual Comic-Con Beer Release & Costume Contest

California Wild Ales Announces Second Annual Comic-Con Beer Release & Costume Contest

California Wild Ales in San Diego, California has announced its second annual tap takeover with Comic-Con International, the largest annual comic and pop culture festival in the world. Full details on this wide-ranging event are below.


SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON – California Wild Ales, San Diego’s Sour House, and the city’s only all-barrel-aged American sour brewery, today announced its second annual Comic-Con beer release commemorating Comic-Con International, the largest annual comic and pop culture festival in the world. The brewery is calling all Superheroes, Zombies, Trekkies, Hufflepuffs, Anime characters and more to stop by its tasting room from July 22-26th for a Comic-Con-themed beer release and costume contest. Some of the beers this year are crowd favorites from last year’s event, and some are brand new.

Because of COVID-19, the brewery is making its beer available in 16oz crowlers and 500ml bottles to-go. As part of the release, the brewery is offering 13 sour ales including:“Cherry Potter,” “Pickle Rick,” “Daenerys Tar-Berry-an,” “Mr. Tea,” “Rosemary Poppins,” and “SpongeBob Sour Pants,” for on-site pick-up. 

The brewery will hold a Comic-Con costume contest. Customers are invited to come by the brewery and get their photo taken or email photos of themselves in their costumes for a chance to win Comic-Con swag and a set of bottles. No purchase necessary. All photos will be posted to social media and the winner with the most “likes” wins. To enter please email photos to: [email protected] 

“One of the best things about Comic-con is the costumes,” said Zack Brager, co-owner and founder of California Wild Ales. “It’s an art form, and here at California Wild Ales we are huge proponents of keeping the arts alive. That’s why from July 22nd to July 26th, we’re inviting people to wear those costumes proudly.” 

“We decided a few months ago that no matter what, we would do another celebration of Comic-Con like we did last year, even if we had to make some adjustments due to COVID-19,” said Bill DeWitt, co-owner and founder of California Wild Ales. “We hope these fun, funky flavors inspire sour lovers to always believe in their inner superhero, and even though they can’t celebrate in costume, they can open a sour and make the most of it.” 

California Wild Ales is releasing 13 sour beers, including a few flavors from the brewery’s recent “May the 4th Star Wars Day” event including “Darth Citrius,” “Chewboocha,” “ImPEARial Stormtrooper,” and “The Dark Side.” 

Three varieties will be available in 500ml bottles, and 10 draft selections will be packaged in 16 ounce crowlers. The beer will be available for online sales for on-site pick up at the California Wild Ales brewery and tasting room located at 4202 Sorrento Valley Bld., Ste. L on Wednesday and Thursday, July 22-23rd from 12pm-5pm on and Friday through Sunday, July 24-26 from 12pm-7pm. Customers can visit: www.californiawildales.com or call (855) WILD-ALE or (855) 945-3253 to place orders. We will have some Comic-Con California Wild Ales’ stickers, as well as some Limited Edition Giclee Prints available for purchase on-site. 

Three 500ml bottles include:  

  • Sour Rangers: This golden sour blend of loquats, apricots, and kumquats with orange citrus yield a tropical melon character and a pleasant, balanced acidity. 
  • Pickle Rick: This crisp and refreshing salty gose-style beer features fresh cucumber, dill,  and black peppercorns, resulting in a pickle-y sour/salty combination perfect for hot summer days.
  • Darth Citrius: Made with Bearss limes, Meyer lemons, and Satsuma mandarins fresh off the trees from our friend Summer’s vineyard. Exploding with sweet citrus flavor, this best-selling deliciously tart wild ale is sure to be a hit. 

Ten 16 ounce crowlers include: 

  • Berry Allen: This beer blends Carlsbad blueberries with just the right amount of mint to add a refreshing touch to the beautiful tannic blueberry character. A great summer beer.
  • Daenerys Tar-Berry-an: We used the Carlsbad Blueberry beer as the base and added some spice to the mix with a healthy helping of jalapeños. The white Queen would approve.
  • Mr. Tea: We took a golden sour and rested it on a healthy portion of Meyer lemons before finishing it off with Lady Grey black tea and honey. The Meyer lemons blend beautifully with the spicy floral notes of Bergamot and natural orange and lemon from the tea. “I pity the fool who doesn't try this beer.” 
  • Rosemary Poppins: This savory sour features fresh, California rosemary with Meyer lemons and pairs perfectly with a meal or by itself. A spoonful of rosemary helps the sour go down. 
  • Princess Peach: This pristine peach, jasmine green tea and honey blend provide a refreshing mix of sweet, tart, and floral flavors that you’ll want to drink by the pool.
  • Cherry Potter: After resting this golden sour on sweet cherry purée and adding a dash of vanilla, this beer exhibits notes of cherry pie with vanilla ice cream on top. It has a perfectly balanced acidity and is great as a dessert. Pure magic! 
  • SpongeBob Sour Pants: Raw organic toasted coconut flakes were added to our classic grilled pineapple beer, yielding a sweet creamy character. Should be enjoyed on a beach out of a pineapple. (Disclaimer: California Wild Ales does not endorse drinking on the beach in San Diego because it is illegal). 
  • Chewbacca: This refreshing fermented sour kombucha beer blend combines a golden sour base with carrot, turmeric, ginger, and cayenne pepper kombucha; a collaboration with TapShack Ocean Beach 
  • ImPEARial Stormtrooper: This higher ABV (7.5%) Imperial sour beer features Julian pears and Saigon cinnamon that is reminiscent of an old-style naturally-fermented cider, crisp and cool for any time of year.  
  • The Dark Side: This sour kombucha blend uses barrel-aged golden sour plus red beet, pomegranate, and hibiscus kombucha from TapShack Ocean Beach for an earthy, tart lip-smacker that will take you to the dark side and back!  

About California Wild Ales
California Wild Ales, San Diego’s Sour House, is San Diego’s only all barrel-aged sour brewery. It began creating fresh and funky sour beers in 2015 and opened its tasting room in 2018. The brewery’s sour beer is aged in American, French, and Hungarian oak barrels for a minimum of nine months and uses fresh, seasonal produce from local San Diego farmers resulting in a refreshing, tart flavor profile and depth often associated with fine wine. The brewery uses mixed and wild fermentation methods using probiotic yeast and bacteria strains including Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces, and Pediococcus. For more information, visit: https://www.californiawildales.com/

For additional information or imagery visit:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/californiawildales/
Instagram: @californiawildales

Twitter: @CaliWildAles 

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