Greetings and Salutations my Friends,
This Thursday is an exciting one for anyone who loves craft beer, good eats, and something cold to sip on! Good City Brewing serves up some tasty IPAs and dishes out some great food as well. As I sat back and thought about the quality taste of Good City beers, I asked myself, “How did they get such great hops?” Well, after putting back a few Good City Mottos I did a little research – what I found left me craving more.
Good City came to Milwaukee in the summer of 2016 and was quick to put their hops on the map. Their beers don’t use just ordinary hops, though. After speaking to one of the brewmasters he let me in on a little secret called the experimental hop #34, and explained where the number 34 came from. Were there 33 failed experimental hops? Was 34 the brewmaster’s favorite number? Maybe there were 34 different hops combined into one brew. All were possible answers, but why it was called the experimental hop #34 still has me shocked.
Hop #34 wasn’t grown Milwaukee or the United States. It was grown in Athens, Greece. Some of you are probably wondering why a brewery in Milwaukee is using hops from Athens. Well, it just so happens that Bucks star, Giannis Antetokounmpo is from Athens. As told by the brewmaster, Giannis visited the brewery during early development and asked about the type of hops Good City was using in their IPAs. They went on to tell him about the Mosaic hops, Citra hops, and Galaxy hops, but Giannis wasn’t impressed. He told them he had a hop far superior than those. Without saying another word, he handed them a bag labeled #34 and walked away. This left them a bit confused, but when the Greek Freak hands you an idea you roll with it.
So they put their faith in the Giannis, and it paid off – experimental hop #34 put their beers at the top of the list in Milwaukee. To show their love to Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks, Good City is building another tap room at the Entertainment Block at the new Fiserv Forum. This facility will be brewing a bunch of beers, some of which, may just have more of those experimental hops.
Cheers,
Matty “Ice” Ruemler
*Keeping your glass filled and spirits high one Thursday at a time, this is Welcome to Thursdays: a local social group determined to make your Thursdays more fun. Each week, The Squeaky Curd features a Milwaukee County bar that we gather at on Thursday evening. Join us Thursday, August 9, 2018 at Good City Brewing Company, 2108 N Farwell Ave (East Side), at 7:30pm.*