File this one under delicious.
Two years ago Sub Pop Records celebrated its 20th anniversary with a multi-day party known as SP 20. The label hoisted a flag atop the Space Needle, booked Marymoor Park for a two-day festival filled with bands on its roster past and present and even had local microbrewery Elysian Brewing Company make a Sub Pop beer. And like all things Sub Pop the delicious golden nectar was created with a bit of a tongue-in-cheek approach.
The beer was called Loser and it was only available at SP 20 events, so imagine my surprise when I came across pint bottles of Loser while browsing the adult beverage aisle of my local QFC. Priced at $4.49 a pint the pale ale goes down smooth and carries a slightly hoppy taste with a small bit of bitterness. It also packs a 7 percent alcohol by volume punch which can sneak up on you after polishing off three or four of these bad boys. Not that I’d have any experience with that or anything.
The label is a Charles Peterson shot of Mudhoney’s Mark Arm and Steve Turner. I chatted up the guy from Elysian who was pouring Loser backstage at SP 20 and he told me the Washington State Liquor Control Board wasn’t going to allow the company to make a tap for the beer because of the phallic connotations of a guitar sticking out of Mark Arm’s crotch (Or is that Steve Turner’s crotch in the picture? I can’t tell). Phallic or not, Loser is easily the most delicious release affiliated with Sub Pop. I highly recommend picking up a few pints because according to Elysian’s website it’s a seasonal brew so it likely won’t be around for long.
