“Let’s have a restorative beer.” So Eleanor Friedberger remembers her mother oft remarking at the end of a hard day – sometimes sarcastically, she adds. The singer-songwriter would later borrow that turn of phrase for The Fiery Furnaces’sixth record, Widow City. “I want a restorative beer, so I can take my mind off these tears,” she sang on “Restorative Beer,” a track that like many on the album cribbed lyrics from ‘60s and ‘70s editions of House Beautiful magazines collected by her grandmother. Now, 17 years down the road, Eleanor has teamed up with Virginia’s Ocelot Brewing and Dallas’ Celestial Beerworks to bring the definitive Restorative Beer into existence. Ocelot will release its version of the collaboration – a 6.8% West Coast IPA – on Wednesday, December 18. zzubreebym
The beer arrives just as Eleanor, her brother Matthew, and The Fiery Furnaces touring band can be heard breathing new life into other entries from their storied catalog on this fall’s Stuck In My Head. Recorded live in studio without any overdubs, Stuck In My Head captures the reconstituted rock outfit in all its unfettered glory: rollicking, vibrant, restlessly imaginative, and overflowing with melodic savvy.
With Restorative Beer, we sought to forge a collaboration that similarly leans into easy appeal while maintaining a playful headiness. Befitting Eleanor’s vision that the IPA be first and foremost crisp and quenching, its grist is all barley. And since The Fiery Furnaces is a family affair, we opted to use almost entirely Simpsons Malt’s luxe Golden Promise pale malt… because, true story, the Friedbergers are distant cousins of Richard Simpson, the 162-year-old UK company’s current chair. Their heirloom spring barley brings a light but distinct malt character and color while clearing the way for humulus lupus radiance.
That hop suite showcases the bounty of another independent craft beer institution: Segal Ranch. Taking loose inspiration from the Friedbergers’ Greek heritage and Eleanor’s time spent living on the Mediterranean Sea, we sourced freshly kilned 2024 Anchovy hops from the legendary Yakima Valley farm. Puckishly named by Fast Fashion’s Brian Strumke, Anchovy hops don’t actually possess any fishy attributes – the experimental cultivar’s dominant character is candied watermelon, with subtler pine notes underneath. In Restorative Beer, we’ve paired it with the familiar and beloved hop combo of Citra and Mosaic. Citra nuances Anchovy’s perceived melon, while Mosaic brings its beguiling mélange of tropical fruit, cannabis, and, of course, a touch of blueberry. You knew we couldn’t resist incorporating a nod to The Fiery Furnaces’ 2004 opus Blueberry Boat into the recipe, right?
The label art, wholly developed by Eleanor in concert with Hudson Valley artist and designer Melissa Gorman, draws on visual cues from Greek lagers, past Friedberger matriarchs, and disposable drink receptacles.
“Melissa and I talked about making a beer label that looked overtly feminine since that’s something we haven’t seen,” Eleanor shares. “My mom is Greek-American, and I’ve spent a lot of time in Greece enjoying and admiring the classic Greek beer labels… I showed Melissa a collection of my great-grandmother’s lace, and she scanned some pieces to use as a background. Looking at the scanned lace over blue, it reminded us of the classic Greek diner Anthora coffee cupsthat are ubiquitous around NYC.”
Here presented another connection: Both of Eleanor’s Greek great-grandfathers were diner owners.
“Lightbulb! Wouldn’t that be neat as a beer can?” Eleanor continues. “We wanted to pay homage to the iconic Anthora design within the universe of ‘Restorative Beer’ – pairing its found lyrics with found imagery to create a mythological, visual artifact.”
At last, a restorative beer to take our mind off these tears.
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Stuck In My Head is available now via Bandcamp.
On Saturday, December 28, Eleanor and Ocelot will celebrate the release of Restorative Beer at Everything Nice in Ellenville, New York. Jessica Clark’s record shop + bookstore will host the event from 3:00 to 5:00.
Restorative Beer will be available at Ocelot this Wednesday, December 18, with limited distribution in Virginia and DC to come. Celestial will release its own version, brewed in Dallas, later this month. The IPA is Ocelot and Celestial’s third collaboration in 2024. The first two, In Between Stars and Stare at the Sun, paid tribute to Eleanor’s remarkable four solo records.
The IPA follows Ocelot collaborations with Mary Timony, Sheer Mag, of Montreal, The Clientele, Protomartyr, Superchunk, Bad Moves, Palehound, Fucked Up, and Merge Records over the last two years. Founded by Adrien and Laura Widman almost a decade ago, the brewery is located in Dulles, Virginia.
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