LINCOLN PARK — Beer me, bear me: The fourth annual collaboration between Lincoln Park Zoo and DryHop Brewers is targeted to help polar bears.
The zoo announced Thursday that DryHop's annual special brewin' to benefit the zoo and its conservation efforts will produce Ursus Mapletimus, dedicated to the new Arctic Tundra exhibit and its honeymooning pair of breeding polar bears, Kobe and Siku.
Ursus Mapletimus is a smoked maple imperial white ale, playing off the species' Latin name, ursus maritimus, or "water bear," and will debut May 20 at the annual Zoo-ologie fundraiser for the zoo's Auxiliary Board.
The bruin brew will be made available to the public at DryHop's Lakeview location, 3155 N. Broadway, on May 24 as its contribution to Chicago Craft Beer Week. DryHop will donate $1 from each pint sold to benefit the zoo's conservation work on behalf of polar bears, for as long as supplies last.
"This collaboration continues to bring animals in need to the forefront of conversations, helping shed light on the threats to species such as polar bears,” said Megan Ross, the zoo's executive vice president. "In order to help save polar bears from the impacts of human-induced climate change, we need to work together, making this partnership with DryHop Brewers even more meaningful."
In some ways, it brings the collaboration full circle, as DryHop's annual beer contribution to the zoo began four years ago after owner Greg Shuff visited Churchill, Manitoba, in Canada, nicknamed "the polar bear capital of the world" for the way the bears sometimes amble right through town. There, Shuff met former Lincoln Park Zoo biologist Kristine Schad, who made the Chicago connection and recommended that Shuff get in touch with the zoo's Corporate Alliances team and brew up a benefit beer.
"It’s unbelievable that this is our fourth year collaborating on a beer with Lincoln Park Zoo," DryHop Head Brewer Brant Dubovick said. "Time flies when you’re brewing beer to support such a fantastic local organization like the zoo."
The new beer is brewed with smoked malt and all-natural maple syrup, providing a smoky citrus taste up front with a very mild bitterness to back it up.
At the Zoo-ologie fundraiser, DryHop Executive Chef Jeff Dysart will serve the new Ursus Mapletimus paired with bourbon maple syrup ice cream with a vanilla-rye-whisky glaze, smoked sugar, blackberry and mint in a waffle cone.
Beer geeks will have to come up with their own pairings when it's released to the public later in the month.
