Political gridlock, it seems, doesn’t extend to beer. After John Najeway, co-owner of Akron’s Thirsty Dog Brewing Co., noticed Platform Beer Co. also pegged its RNC-inspired brew as “Unconventional Ale,” he called the owners. “I’ve known them,” Najeway says, who had trademarked the name. “We had a 10-minute conversation.” It was a nonissue, says Paul Benner, founder and chief brewing officer at Platform. “We said, ‘That’s fine, we’ll just come up with a new name.’ ” We toast the compromise.
Thirsty Dog Brewing Co.’s Unconventional Ale: Using local malts from the Cleveland Malt House and two varieties of hops — Magnum and the more fruity Mosaic — the light ale ($9.99 for a six-pack of 12-ounce bottles) is conservatively hopped. “It won’t leave a bad taste in your mouth like politics sometimes do,” jokes Najeway. The tongue-in-cheek label features an elephant, donkey, clown, stars, dogs and 17 red-and-white stripes that represent each candidate that vied for the GOP nomination. “It’s outside of our brand’s regular look,” he says, “but it was fun to do.” thirstydog.com
Platform Beer Co.’s Paletriotic: This special-edition ale let the Ohio City brewery experiment with hops it hadn’t tried previously — the fruity Jarrylo and floral and minty Pekko — which resulted in a clean, West Coast-style pale ale ($9.99 for a six-pack of 12-ounce cans). “If we’re going to do a special brew, [we] might as well do it kind of funky,” says Benner. Keeping with the brand’s signature look of a strip on top and four colored bottom stripes, the can gets decked out in red, white and blue. “We wanted something that screams America,” he says. platformbeerco.com