FU-Sandy
News

“Forever Unloved Sandy” Beer Released to Raise Money for Hurricane Victims

The Flying Fish Brewing Company released a special brew of beer called Forever Unloved (F.U.) Sandy to help aid victims of Superstorm Sandy. So far, the company has raised over $45,000 for charity and hopes to get the number up to $50,000 when all is said and done.

“After the storm, we wanted to do something as a fundraiser but we weren’t sure what to do because we had just moved our brewery and our production was not up to speed,” said President and Founder of The Flying Fish Brewing Company Gene Muller. “Once we did, we decided to do what we do best, which is brew beer.”

Muller said he wanted to make a summer beer for the winter. The recipe of the beer consists of 50 percent wheat and 50 percent malt. “People always identify the wheat beers for summer, so we gave it a little more body and upped the alcohol a little bit to give it more of a hop bite and make it fit in better with the cold weather.”

The Flying Fish Brewing Company website said the F.U. Sandy beer is: “Brewed with a 50/50 blend of Two Row Pale Malt and American White Wheat. It is hopped with experimental hop ADHA 483, donated by the American Dwarf Hop Association, which has never been used in a beer. Muller and Head Brewer Casey Hughes expect a beautiful, tropical nose of mangoes and guavas that will accentuate the beer’s soft mouth feel and contribute to a truly one-of-a-kind ale.”

The company sold 86 kegs of the beer to local New Jersey bars, including local Long Branch bars, Jack’s Goal Line Stand, McLoone’s and the Draft House. The beer has received a mostly positive response and many locations, like Jack’s and McLoone’s, are already sold out of it.

“The F.U. Sandy beer was very popular here and people absolutely loved it,” said Brian Nazzaro, McLoone’s Bar Manager. “It actually tasted like a summer ale IPA.”

Alex Stefan, University alumnus and a bartender at Jack’s Goal Line Stand, said the beer sold very quickly from the moment it arrived. “From the moment we tapped it, it took less than five days to kick the keg,” Stefan said. “Five days is ridiculously quick to finish an entire keg.”

Muller was the one who came up with the name of the beer. “We wanted to do something with sort of a Jersey edge to it and I came up with the “F.U.” first and thought of a way to make that work,” Muller said. “Soon after this we came up with the ‘forever unloved’ part of it.”

As for people who aren’t fans of the name, Muller said he has received voicemails saying that name is disrespectful to people in New Jersey named Sandy. He added that there have been few of those calls and most of the feedback he’s heard has been positive.

Some beer drinkers have enjoyed the taste of the beer, while some have thought the citrus taste was too strong.

Stefan said he is not really a big craft beer drinker, but once in a while he will try something different. “This beer was actually really good and I’m not surprised it sold out so quickly,” Stefan said. “The beer was for a charitable cause, had a good taste, and of course an awesome name.”

Not all people were fans of the beer. “I wasn’t really happy with the beer,” senior criminal justice Greg Cenicola said. “It was too lemony for my taste.”

Muller explained that people are getting a taste of citrus from the wheat body of the beer mixed with a little bit of hops at the end.

Muller has been happy with what he’s seen so far, especially the reaction of New Jersey locals. “It’s cool to see all of these New Jersey businesses and organizations making this happen,” Muller said. “And of course all of the consumers coming out to taste and drink the beer.”

Both Jack’s and McLoone’s sold pints of the FU Sandy Beer for $8. Although the beer is sold out at many locations, Muller said that it is possible there could be more brews of the beer in the future.

“We’ve had requests to bring it back for the summer because right now a lot of the shore bars aren’t even open in February, so we’re still trying to figure it out,” Muller said. The beer is available only as a draft, as there are no plans to have the beer bottled at this point in time.

In addition to making a profit for charity through beer sales, The Flying Fish Brewing company will also be selling F.U. Sandy t-shirts and glasses to help raise more money. The company has not yet announced which charity they will be giving the money to. Muller said they want to make sure that it goes towards a legitimate New Jersey based charity organization.

IMAGE TAKEN from zagat.com