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COMMEMORATIVE VIP BEER-TO-GO

Horseplay Cold IPA
Blue Owl Brewing & Hold Out Brewing

Each year, Texas Craft Brewers Festival VIP attendees go home with a souvenir gift. From T-shirts, to coolers, to drinkware, we’ve done some fun stuff, but for the largest festival in the state focused on exclusively Texas-brewed independent craft beer, no gift is better than, well, BEER. That’s why this year we’re excited to send VIP ticket holders home with a special commemorative collaboration beer brewed by the folks at Blue Owl Brewing and Hold Out Brewing–two breweries whose teams play an integral behind-the-scenes role in helping us put on Texas Craft Brewers Festival.

The result of this collaboration–packaged in a stunning can designed by Alana Louise to celebrate Texas history–is a really fun beer called Horseplay Cold IPA.

Now, you might be asking yourself…what the heck is a Cold IPA? Well, our friends at BSG broke it all down in a recent blog post…

Surprisingly, Cold IPAs have nothing to do with temperature- although who doesn’t like cracking open a cold one? Cold IPAs are a new spin on IPAs that work to give drinkers a crisper IPA without dipping too far into being a lager-style. Digging through various articles, and a few truly vicious Facebook comments, Cold IPAs can be distinguished by their details; similar to an NEIPA except for added adjuncts (rice, corn, etc) in the mash, fermented with lager yeasts at higher temperatures than traditionally done with lager yeasts, and dosed with dry hops at the tail end of fermentation for biotransformation. The hops used are typical of hop packed IPAs rather than the noble hop varieties you’d expect in a regular lager.

The Chilly & The Crispy – What’s A Cold IPA? – BSG

VIP Ticket-Holders: make sure to pick up your four-pack of Horseplay Cold IPA at the festival merch booth right by the main exit gate upon your departure from the fest! (And don’t forget, because unfortunately Texas law prohibits us from shipping it to you.)

All Festival Attendees: You’ll be able to sample Horseplay Cold IPA (along with nine other fun collaboration beers) by stopping by the Craft Pride Presents: PARTNERS in CRAFT Collaboration Tap Wall.

Horseplay Cold IPA cans

ABOUT THE BEER

Horseplay

COLD IPA | 6.5% ABV

Description: A fun collaboration between Blue Owl Brewing and Hold Out Brewing that combines the strengths of both. Cold IPAs are a hybrid style that people love to debate the technicalities of. Isn’t it just an IPL? Well, kinda-not-really. This fresh take is a slightly tart, dry, clean pilsner base but with super-modern tropical fruity, citrusy hops. So it’s fruity-juicy-hoppy IPA meets crispy rice lager finish. The slight acidity makes the finish bright and inviting and accentuates the fruit flavors from the hops. Now we’re all hip and trendy!

Brewed & packaged with generous support from sponsors: BSG, White Labs & American Canning.

Label design by Alana Louise.

Scenes from the Collaboration

Special thanks to these sponsoring suppliers for their generous contributions to the beer!