From Ocelot:
On Wednesday, Ocelot Brewing will release Beer Mag, a 4.6% rice lager made in collaboration with monsters of rock Sheer Mag. Crisp and quaffable, this brew was carefully calibrated to quench the thirst of headbangers, concertgoers, and anyone pumping Playing Favorites – the Philly quartet’s recently released third LP – at maximum volume. And it arrives just in the nick of time: Sheer Mag kicks off a North American tour at DC’s Songbyrd this Friday.
Thirty-seven minutes and forty-five seconds of all killer and no filler, Playing Favorites marks Sheer Mag’s debut for Nashville’s Third Man Records. When label co-founder Ben Blackwell caught wind of our collaboration, he offered one piece of sage advice: “Trademark the name Beer Mag quick!” Lead guitarist Kyle Seely’s reaction was equally swift. “Beer Mag has to be the name,” he informed us. So it was written. Beer Mag. The Rocker’s Choice.
In designing the liquid, our direction from the band could not have been clearer. “Let’s try to make a beer for going to a rock show.” “Something you can drink a whole bunch of.” “Just really simple.” “We want people to shotgun this.” With that in mind, we began with the archetype of the industrial lager. Lightened with rice. Clean. Crushable. But much like how Sheer Mag filters decades of the American rock cannon through their distinctive vantage, wily musical chops, and robust sense of structure, we refracted the quintessential macro offering through our own brewing sensibilities.
Pale-but-flavorful Helles malt from North Carolina’s incomparable Epiphany Craft Malt provides the lager’s foundation. Then, in addition to Pilsen malt and flaked rice, Epiphany’s Tidewater Gold Rice – “the granddaddy of American rice” – animates Beer Mag with a delicate nuttiness and the slightest hint of sweetness. The grist’s nuances contrast nicely with subtle tropical brightness from hot-side additions of Nelson Sauvin – the only hop employed in making this beer. If we’re truly playing favorites tonight, you know how we feel about that expressive New Zealand cultivar.
The label showcases a newly minted Beer Mag emblem – a reimagining of the iconic Sheer Mag logo by its creator Kyle Seely, subsequently embellished by Ocelot Creative Director David Kammerdeiner. Silver and gold. Black and white. A modern take on the classic can.
We’re proud to partner on this crusher with Kyle, his brother and bassist Hart Seely, powerhouse vocalist Tina Halladay, and Matt Palmer, rhythm guitarist and the pride of Vienna, Virginia. In Playing Favorites, they’ve made a record that radiates warmth, effortless charm, and unfettered pop bliss. We can’t wait to shotgun a Beer Mag to it.
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Playing Favorites is available now via Third Man Records, Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever else rock music can be found.
Beer Mag will be available at Songbyrd on Friday. Limited distribution around the DC area will follow.
The lager comes in the wake of Ocelot’s collaboration with Mary Timony earlier this month and beers with The Clientele, Protomartyr, Superchunk, Palehound, and *** Up during 20203. The brewery is located in Dulles, Virginia.
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