Beer and Bites at Harlem Hops: Bourbon aged Execution Rock Imperial Porter 8.1% accompanied by Maroons Jerk Chicken Sausage served on a pretzel bun with a bed of cilantro lime slaw topped with pineapple pepper relish and a drizzle of the in-house execution Rock Imperial Porter BBQ sauce and plantain chips (Image Source: www.facebook.com/harlemhops).

To celebrate the third anniversary of their acclaimed craft beer bar, the only Black-owned bar of its kind in Harlem, the HBCU-educated partners of Harlem Hops (Kim Harris, Stacey Lee, and Kevin Bradford) are celebrating with the drop of a special beer brewed in collaboration with Black-owned Montclair Brewery: JUBILEE – a Hibiscus Red Ale, whose name also celebrates Juneteenth 2021. It’s been a challenging year of bringing exceptional beer from local craft brewers to Harlem (often by bicycle) and continuing to bring diversity to the world of craft beer.

About the beer:

After their successful spring collaboration with Four City Brewing Company and Harlem Blue, La Renaissance Du Monde, the Harlem Hops team sought out one of the metro area’s other Black- owned breweries for a joint celebration. Together they’ve created a delicate red wheat ale brewed with hibiscus flowers. The hibiscus’ natural tartness is well-balanced with a measured addition of lactose, and Perle hops in combination with three wheats to result in a super crisp and clean vibrantly red summer ale. Hopefully by integrating the pictures and information of this beautiful brew on their website (surely if they have an able web design company like WebCitz, this might be possible), they could bring in more prospective patrons to their doorstep.

Montclair owner/brewer Leo Sawadogo says, “As I learned more about the Juneteenth holiday, I wanted to add a piece of Africa to the recipe to remind everyone about the origin of these people who finally got their freedom. That’s why I chose hibiscus, also known as bissap in many parts of Africa.”

Leo’s wife and co-owner/general manager Denise Ford Sawadogo adds, “Harlem Hops is one of our most passionate business partners and friends in New York, and we’re thrilled to partner with them on this special anniversary release that also allows us to raise awareness and educate others about our history and our culture.”

As with their prior collaboration, the Jubilee label artwork is by Harlem-born artist Roosevelt “Black Rose” Taylor.

Harlem Hops co-founder Kim Harris says, “We always reserve one or more taps for Black-owned breweries. We’re proud to pour Montclair Brewery’s beer, and this project is a natural outgrowth of our friendship, our mission to educate, and our desire to continue to offer our guests the best, freshest craft beer available.”

Jubilee is currently available at Montclair Brewery and at Harlem Hops. Visit harlemhops.com for the ever-changing beer list, food menu, and more information.

About Harlem Hops:

In addition to being named Imbibe Magazine‘s 2019 Beer Bar of the Year and one of Thrillist’s Best Beer Bars in NYC, Harlem Hops’ partners were amongst SevenFifty Daily’s accomplished 2018 Drinks Innovators. TODAY, Essence, ESPN’s The Undefeated, The New Yorker, Grub Street, NY Amsterdam News, Fox5NY and The New York Times also took notice of Harlem Hops, twice named a Top 10 Craft Beer Bar by USA Today. The Harlem Hops team also founded Harlem Hopes, a 501c3 educational foundation for Harlem students seeking to attend historically Black colleges and universities. Donate at www.harlemhopes.org.

About Montclair Brewery:

Montclair Brewery is a husband and wife owned microbrewery and tasting room located in Montclair’s Walnut Street business district. The business opened its doors in the fall of 2018 and was born from the desires of head brewer Leo Sawadogo to turn his passion of home brewing into an exciting and growing business with his wife, Denise, who manages the business operations. Its mission is to build a stronger community by offering an eclectic and culture-infused offering of beer styles to both craft beer fans and to those new to craft beer. For more information, visit www.montclairbrewery.com.