What's In A Name?

Most of our beer labels carry a nautical theme, but UNPOC is probably the most comical. It stands for Unable to Navigate, Probably On Course.

Some brews have a story behind their name. One afternoon, Chris and Brady stopped by to taste something I had just brewed. They noticed a collector’s chess set and decided to play a game. As it turns out, alcohol affects chess strategy much like it does heavy machinery. One move led to another, and before long, Chris shook his head and muttered, "It all started with the bishop." That sealed the name for the next batch.

My wife had the pleasure of working with one of the sweetest ladies you could ever meet. During a conversation about beer, she casually mentioned loving a nice cold glass. I asked a few questions about her ideal brew, then got to work. The result? Yo Ho, Blow the Jan Down! I took her a growler, and she still talks about it to this day.

One afternoon, she was reminiscing about her namesake when Butch chimed in, asking why he didn’t have a beer named after him. I asked what he liked, and he said a good IPA. Now, personally, I don’t think such a thing exists, but plenty of folks love them. So, I took a stab at it and created Butch’s Bilgewater. He must have spilled some because he asked for a refill much faster than Jan did.

Before wrapping up, I have to share the story of Anika Bay. Anika is a Scandinavian word for “sweet,” and Bay plays on bae, meaning “berry.” So, Anika Bay isn’t a place—it’s a fruit. My son once asked for a decadent beer. I had never heard of such a thing, so I pressed for details. He described something like chocolate and raspberries. My mind first went to a crisp pilsner or a Mexican beer with chocolate, which made me shudder. Then, we started thinking—what about a dark beer? A stout? And instead of milk chocolate, what if we used dark chocolate or cocoa?

And just like that, Anika Bay was born. It didn’t last long, but man, did it go down smooth!