Founders of New York’s Foreign Objects Beer launch Discord Beer Co., focused on sour IPAs (updated)

Editor’s Note: The logo image that accompanied this press release post, which can still be found here and here, is apparently not the official version of the company’s logo, which is above. We’ve reached out to Discord Beer to figure out how that logo got into circulation, and we will update readers when they respond.

Here’s a statement from the Discord Beer team on the subject.

“The Discord image in question was created for Instagram as an homage to Dischord Records. It was never intended for widespread use such as a part of a press release. To cease all confusion we have removed the image.” — Discord Beer Team

In summation, as always: Relax, Internet.

The founders of Foreign Objects Beer Co. have launched a new brewing company called Discord Beer Co. to focus exclusively on sour IPAs and the coalescence of sour, hoppy and sweet flavors.

While juicy IPAs and tart, sour ales have emerged as two of the most popular beer styles in the country over the past few years, Discord Beer Co. is not a response to these market trends. Rather, the inspiration for the company occurred way back in 2013-’14, when two of Discord’s founders were brewing at Urban Family Brewing, a company they cofounded in Seattle. They were experimenting with IPA yeast, kettle souring and dry hopping, eventually releasing a dry hopped sour IPA and becoming one of the few breweries at the forefront of the first wave of sour hopped ales.

“When we brewed our first dry-hopped sour back in the day, no one gave a shit,” said Discord Beer Co. Cofounder Tim Czarnetzki. “Everyone was brewing, shipping and trading farmhouse. IPAs, for the most part, were still bitter bombs at the time. We were trying to brew juicy IPAs and mixed fermentation beers, which wasn’t that common at the time, so we thought it would be interesting to try combining the two styles.”

The history of those kettle soured IPAs eventually led to the founding of Discord Beer Co., giving Czarnetzki and Cofounders Steve D’eva and Sean Bowman the opportunity to invest more time and focus into the flavors that emerge when combining the sour, hoppy and sweet components of beer.

“For us, Discord is really a throwback to the past,” said D’eva. “There’s a William Faulkner quote: ‘The past is never dead. It’s not even past.’ That’s so true for us. We had no idea when we were blending the characteristics of farmhouse ales and IPAs years ago that we were creating flavors that would later become so mainstream.”

Discord Beer launched with two beers

IOU Nothing

A singularly unique Fruited Sour IPA with sumptuous berry and citrus aromas, IOU Nothing pours an intense ruby red color. The 7.0% ABV beer is gently carbonated with just the right amount of hoppy goodness to balance it, and contains notes of vibrant ripe raspberries, tropical fruits, chinotto oranges, and fresh lemon zest.

Unsatisfied

Discord’s interpretation of a Double Dry Hopped Sour IPA, Unsatisfied is a passionate proclamation of the company’s propensity to produce perfectly proportional products. It pours a beautiful hazy golden orange color, with distinctive passionfruit, starfruit, and mango aromas, and just a hint of grapefruit on the tail end. The 7.0% ABV beer contains notes of Seville Orange, Cape gooseberries, and passionfruit, with a touch of herbal spice, and an effervescent mouthfeel.

“At the core of what we do is a desire to have fun and remember exactly what we do for a living,” said Bowman. “As we worked to perfect IOU Nothing and Unsatisfied, a saying emerged among the three of us: ‘This beer is not meant to be saved for a rainy day.’ The sour, hoppy, sweet flavors of Sour IPAs are great for summer, so our target became creating the perfect summer beers. We think we’ve done that.”

IOU Nothing and Unsatisfied are now available in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.