New Founders Brewing beer benefits ArtPrize

Founders Brewing Co. will introduce Mosaic Promise, an ale brewed with a single malt and a single hop, this September. Proceeds from the sale of this new ale will benefit ArtPrize, the world’s largest art competition that takes place annually in Grand Rapids, Mich. Mosaic Promise will be sold in Michigan, Wisconsin, greater New York City and greater Chicago both on draft and in 12-ounce bottles with a suggested retail price of $9.99 per 6-pack.

In April 2013, the two organizations inked a deal that made Founders the official brewery of ArtPrize for the next five years. The premier leadership sponsorship deal included offering Founders beer at all official ArtPrize events, signage, promotion, merchandise, specialized glassware and other items. It also included permission for Founders to use the ArtPrize identity marks (logo and graphics) on any co-packaged items, including beer. Founders expects to release a new beer for each year of its five-year partnership with ArtPrize under the name “Artist Series”. This is year two. Last year’s release was Inspired Artist Black IPA.

“Making a unique beer in honor of ArtPrize has become a fun challenge for our brewers,” said Dave Engbers, co-founder and vice president of brand and education at Founders Brewing Co. “This year’s release just fell into place. Ninkasi — a stained glass ArtPrize submission that showed in our taproom last year — became a permanent part of our taproom when we purchased it last year. We knew right away that it would make a perfect label for Mosaic Promise, a beautifully simple beer that we had been experimenting with for some time.”

Mosaic Promise showcases a single malt — Golden Promise — and a single hop — Mosaic. The traditional barley’s depth of flavor and the versatility of the hops’ bittering, flavor and aroma characteristics are the strong pillars that comprise the structure of this clean, rich, golden beer. Founders can brew complex beers with the best of them, but they recognize that there’s also beauty in simplicity. The beer clocks in at 5.5 percent ABV and 50 IBUs.

Proceeds from the sale of Mosaic Promise will support the future programming of the ArtPrize organization. ArtPrize is an international art competition, open to any artist and decided by public vote. Its mission is to promote critical dialogue and collaboration through new, creative ideas among a large and diverse population of people. As an innovator in redefining what beer can be, Founders believes that experimentation is central to the human experience — whether one experiments with grains and hops or colored glass and light — and that sharing one’s creation with the public is a brave act worth celebrating.

“Founders is an iconic brand producing a sublime range of exquisite beers in our own Grand Rapids,” said Christian Gaines, executive director of ArtPrize. “We’re honored and elated to count Founders as the ArtPrize Official Brewery and to include Mosaic Promise as the latest special release beer — one that’s emblematic of our strong partnership and shared commitment to art, artists and community.”

More than 400,000 people are expected to attend ArtPrize 2014.