One of the things that I like about the craft beer industry are the names – the names of  the beers and the names of the breweries that brew them. The industry is full of clever and amusing names. For beer this includes  Hoppy Ending (yes, that’s a hop getting a massage), Polygamy Porter (“Why Have Just One?”), Blithering Idiot (at 11.1% ABV this English style barleywine may turn you into one quickly), Citra Ass  Down (good advice perhaps when drinking this 8% ABV IPA), and Hop Ness Monster (yes it really does exist).  As for breweries there’s Ass Clown, Clown Shoes, Calfkiller, Dogfish Head, and Dirty Bucket. For this blog entry I thought I’d have some fun and ask four friends and fellow craft beer lovers from around the country to pick one beer or one brewery whose name they found particularly interesting, amusing or which simply resonated with or had some meaning for them. For good measure I included one of my own – one from my homeland I might add.

Hipster Repellent IPA is the second of two beers from Falls City Beer in Louisville, KY. After reclaiming the original Pale Ale’s working class heritage, Falls City’s second brand mocks (or appears to as an insider) the hipster driven culture of Louisville’s trendy neighborhoods—the Highlands, NULU, Germantown, and Frankfort Avenue—where the majority of craft beers are sold at bars and restaurants like Cumberland Brews, Nachbar, Craft House, the Garage, and River City Draft House. In short, it’s an ironic tribute to the pseudo-working class hipsters (and their neighborhoods) who continue to fuel neo-localism and struggle to “Keep Louisville Weird” through consumption. It’s also not a bad IPA (Jay Gatrell, New Albany, IN).

Pogue’s Run Porter is brewed by Flat 12 Bierwerks in Indianapolis, IN is named after a creek that runs through Indianapolis and under Lucas Oil Stadium.  A bike trail runs along its banks and there is an art and nature trail south of I70 on the east side. George Pogue (1763-1821) , of Rushville, IN, donated land that later would become part of Indianapolis and was among a group who initially laid out the city.  Pogue’s Run Porter, 5.5% ABV and 34 IBU, is a dark, frothy, carbonated American style stout.  It’s flavorful without leaving you feeling heavy.  It’s as drinkable on a cold wintry night as on a sultry summer evening (Tom Steiger, Indianapolis, IN – a descendant of George Pogue).

Lagunitas’ Undercover Investigation Shut-down Ale is a big, assertive beer that has the malt characteristics of an English barleywine combined with aggressive additions of American hops. Even more complex than the beer is the story of how it got its name. On March 17, 2005 – better known as the St. Patrick’s Day massacre – Lagunitas’ CMO, Ron Lindenbusch, lit up a joint during an informal weekly party the brewery held for employees, friends, and regulars. Minutes later, an undercover California Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) agent – who had been attending these parties from a tipoff about possible sales of marijuana on site – arrested Lindenbusch for possession after months of undercover investigations that yielded no evidence of marijuana dealing. The ABC suspended Lagunitas’ license for 20 days, but the charges against Lindenbusch were dismissed. A sign now hangs in front of the brewery: “Please, no pot smoking anymore.” (Ralph McLaughlin, Oakland, CA)

Hello, My Name is Vladimir is an Imperial IPA brewed by the iconic Scottish brewery BrewDog. Located in the small town of Ellon in the Scottish Highlands this brewery is famous for its innovative , edgy, and irreverent  beers. Hello, My Name is Vladimir was a limited edition beer that was brewed to coincide with the 2014 Winter Olympic Games that were held in Sochii, Russia. The beer was a protest against Russian legislation banning homosexual propaganda. In its promotional material for the beer BrewDog noted that “Drinking me gives you energy, ignorance and dogmatism required to shoot a deer (with your top off) and pass internationally denounced, discriminatory legislation (top optional) before you’ve even had your caviar breakfast.” The bottle’s label shows a Warholesque picture of Putin  wearing lipstick with “not for gays” printed on the bottom of the label. BrewDog did send a case of the beer to President Putin at the Kremlin (Neil Reid, Toledo, OH).

White Squirrel Brewery, the first microbrewery in Bowling Green, KY, a city of almost 60,000 opened last month. The name chosen for the brewery was White Squirrel. According to one of the owners, the name was originally going to be either Blind Squirrel or Black Squirrel but a search of trademarked names found that both names had already been chosen as either the name of a craft brew or of a craft brewery. But White Squirrel is totally appropriate and in keeping with the local community for indeed there are many white squirrels (they are not albinos incidentally) that make their home on the campus of Western Kentucky University. So many, in fact, that a couple of years ago T-shirts and other paraphernalia began to appear for sale on campus and “Colonel Blanco” as he was called became the unofficial mascot of WKU. The official mascot is “Big Red” which can best be described as a large blob similar to McDonald’s Grimace in red rather than purple. The official name of the athletic teams is the Hilltoppers as the campus is located on top of one of the only major hills in the town. A big red blob is probably as appropriate as any other symbol for the top of a hill. The White Squirrel Brewery is located near campus and is starting with the brewing of three kinds of beer—a Kölsch-style lager, a nut brown Ale and a pale ale. The brewery serves excellent food and has hired a very skilled and creative chef. And though the jury is still out, it appears that the smallish facility (60 seats in the dining area, 10 in the separate bar and room for 20-30 outdoors in a patio) is going to be a big success and a welcome addition to the cultural life of Bowling Green (Tom Bell, Bowling Green, KY).