The Akron Beacon Journal won’t toast its 175th anniversary this year with champagne.
Instead, it will raise a glass of Akron-made beer.
The newspaper has teamed up with Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. to create Beacon Brown 175, a nut brown ale.
The Beacon Journal won’t hog all of this special beer to itself.
Beacon Brown 175 will be sold on draft and in bottles at Acme Fresh Markets, West Point Market and other beer retailers throughout Ohio starting over the Labor Day weekend.
“You really can’t celebrate your 175th anniversary without hoisting a beverage, so we partnered with Thirsty Dog, one of the most celebrated locally owned businesses around,” Beacon Journal Publisher Mark Cohen said.
He noted that the packaging will feature historic Beacon Journal photos and a timeline chronicling the newspaper’s history, which includes four Pulitzer Prizes.
The beer will be 4.4 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). For comparison, Budweiser is 5 percent ABV.
What will it taste like? Ink? Newsprint? Too liberal? Too conservative?
“We’ll find out when it’s done,” Thirsty Dog director of brewing operations Tim Rastetter said last week as the beer was being brewed. “What we expect it to taste like is a nice, easy drinking session beer.”
If you’re interested in taking one of the first tastes, Ken Stewart’s Grille, 1970 W. Market St., Akron, will feature it during a five-course beer dinner at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 19 showcasing Thirsty Dog beers.
Beacon Brown 175 will be paired with a sweet and spicy pork skewer. Tickets are $55, plus tax and tip. Reservations can be made by calling 330-697-6917.
Thirsty Dog produces nearly 40 beer brands, but it never had made a nut brown ale.
Rastetter noted that it’s not the most popular style in the U.S. — with India pale ales now receiving the most consumer attention.
Thirsty Dog is no stranger to making exclusive beers.
The brewery made special beers to help celebrate the bicentennial of Cuyahoga Falls and the 75th anniversary of West Point Market in Akron. It also makes Lunar Lager for the annual Summer Moon Festival in Wapakoneta.
Thirsty Dog also makes exclusive brews for the Akron Art Museum, Retro Dog in Cuyahoga Falls and Nuevo Modern Mexican & Tequila Bar in Akron.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his beer blog at www.ohio.com/beer. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.