We were at the TCMH Healthcare Foundation’s annual Chili Cook Off last November when I spied a piece of art work I could not live without. Lanie Frick, a Texas County artist that is known for paintings of farm animals and the Ozarks, donated an oil painting of a mule. When I saw that painting, I knew I had to have it for the BARn. Brian got into a heated bidding war with one of the County Commissioners, but I got my mule. (And we raised a little money for charity, too—bonus!)
At the time, I knew that mule would be an excellent piece for the BARn. Little did I know that we would decide that a great name for an India Pale Ale in the Ozarks would be “Missouri Mule”.
IPA (as India Pale Ale is referred to) is a beer that is chock full of hops—aroma, foretaste, middle of the taste, after taste, you’re gonna taste hops. Now, there are lots of different kinds of hops, so there are numerous hop aromas and flavors. Central to our IPA are Glacier and Centennial hops, two American varieties.
After learning that Missouri was a state that raised many prize mules throughout the years (after all, the mule is the Missouri state animal), and after learning that mules are renowned for their ability pack bigger loads for longer than any other animal, it did seem really fitting that a beer brewed in the Ozarks and packed full of hops would be called “Missouri Mule”. And this beer packs! It’s got 70 IBUs and is 7.2% ABV.
Missouri Mule is a pretty beer, too!
Although we’ve enjoyed IPAs in our years of beer drinking, we weren’t sure if there was a big need or want for a hop-centric beer. IPA drinking is growing faster than any other style of beer in the US—by 40% in the first 13 weeks of the year! As craft beer lovers have filed through the BARn door, we’ve been told that they are thirsty for IPA. We hope Missouri Mule will help quench that thirst just a little.
Missouri Mule will be on tap for the first time this weekend, Saturday, May 7th, and we’ll serve it until it runs out from 1 to 4 p.m. I don’t have my Lanie Frick mule painting hanging on the wall yet, but you can check out this great label graphic that Brooke Hamilton of Grindstone Studio designed for us. Have I mentioned that Brooke never ceases to wow us with the things she comes up with for Piney River Brewing Company?
Missouri mules hauled hundreds of wagons across the West and packed supplies in World Wars I & II. For decades, mules were also the most reliable Ozark farm hands. Like a Missouri mule, you can rely on our handcrafted India Pale Ale. This IPA packs a hop explosion that will not let you down.
