Helio Basin Brewing Co. Co-Founder and Head Brewer Dustin Hazer Talks Fayuca Rizing

We spoke with Helio Basin Brewing Co. Co-Founder and Head Brewer Dustin Hazer about Fayuca Rizing.

BC: What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)? 
The aroma is bright and clean with grapefruit and melon notes as well as a subtle hint of pine and spice. The initial flavor shows a soft caramel sweetness up front with a smooth transition to a pleasant citrus bitterness on the back end and finishes cleanly. It is a diverse beer in the sense that it has components of both a Pale Ale and also an IPA, so you get these complex yet familiar flavors and aroma with a lighter body.

BC: Where does this beer’s name come from? 
This beer is brewed in collaboration with, and specifically for, Phoenix, Arizona-based band, Fayuca. The name is a tribute to the band, as they rise above and beyond solely making music. They wanted to offer essentially another experience for their fans and thought that a craft beer was the way to do it!

BC: Is this your “desert island beer?”
Being that we live in Phoenix, pretty much every beer we brew can classify as a desert island beer!

BC: Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less? 
Bright, citrusy and bold while still being quite crushable.

BC: Do you know a story – or have a personal story – that revolves around this beer? 
When the lead singer of Fayuca, Gabriel, came into the brewery, he was very unsure of what they wanted to do or how to go about partnering with a brewery. Dustin was also very unsure of how serious this seemingly random person was who had just walked into the brewery during production hours and demanded to talk to the Brewmaster about partnering on a beer, as there was no meeting set and no previous connection between the two.

After sitting down and listening to a nervous and fidgety person talk about the vision for creating another offering for their fans and also attaching a charitable entity to it, Dustin could see the passion that Gabriel had for music and giving back, and it resonated with him -- as he is passionate about beer and giving back to the community as well. After a lengthy talk about what this could look like, they agreed to start making a beer that would be a great fit for the band as well as give the fans something to be excited about.

Since starting the collaboration last year, the beer has seen great success in both the craft beer world as well as the music world. They have sponsored a few concerts that help local musicians and given back to school music programs as well as seen distribution to high-end local retailers as well as Whole Foods. The fact that this beer almost never came to be due to the way the initial meeting happened continues to be something they joke about!

BC: What's a good food pairing for this beer?
A great pairing for this beer is some fresh ceviche while listening to the song “Tricky, Sneaky Sleeves” by Fayuca!

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