Sometimes we hear about collaboration beers that are deserving of a bit more attention than a simple line in The Week Ahead in Beer. Truth or Consequences Brewing Company’s Bad Bully Pale Ale, a collaboration with the Mesilla Valley Homebrew Club, is most certainly worthy of a closer look. On the origins of the collaboration, John Masterson, Chief Beer Officer of TorC Brewing, had this to say: “This spring, the club and the brewery explored ways that their shared love of craft beer could provide a benefit to the local community. This summer, members of the club brewed beers for a contest, and the brewery judged the entries. Tim Nuccio and Sharon Going’s beer won the contest and got the chance to help the brewery brew a 400-gallon batch in Truth or Consequences.  The beer is called “Bad Bully Pale Ale,” after Tim’s bulldog Odin.  It’s an American pale ale, deep gold and citrus-hoppy.” 

We in the Crew have had the privilege of doing our share of collaborations over the years, which is always a wonderful and humbling experience. We took it as no surprise to hear much the same reaction from Tim Nuccio about this brew: “I can’t thank John enough for this experience. I still feel like Charlie from Willie Wonka.  Getting to brew beer on a commercial scale and see the product on the menu at a real brewery is such a tremendous gift for a homebrewer. It’s not even something I contemplated as possible before we entered this competition, and it is still a surreal experience to have our beer on tap in a real commercial taproom where people are paying real money to drink a beer made from our recipe. The original was modeled on my computer with hops from our kitchen freezer and brewed with my dad on the back porch on a propane burner in a giant tamale pot. Sharon and I bottled it on the same back porch a few weeks later. To have it go from there to crystal clear, clean, fermented, and served over the counter by a bartender in a real tap room is still unbelievable. I hope someday I’m able to give back to the homebrewing community in the same way. John and his brewers let us ask all the questions we wanted throughout the brew day and the experience–both the brew and getting to meet people who do this for a living in that capacity–is something I’ll never forget.”

I’d say we in the Crew definitely echo the same sentiments. As beer artists (an apt description of brewers and homebrewers of all kinds, in my estimation), seeing your creation become something that is shared with the world at large is something that just can’t be beat.

To make this even an even sweeter tale, $1 from every sale of the beer will go to La Casa, a Las Cruces nonprofit supporting those affected by domestic violence. As many families were kept home due to COVID these last two years, domestic violence has unfortunately become even more of an issue than in years past, making it even more critical to address now. Bad Bully will be on draft at both taprooms this Saturday. There will be a beer release party at the Las Cruces taproom (2001 E Broadway, #115) Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m., and representatives from La Casa will be on hand to discuss their mission and ongoing projects. So head to the release, buy a pint, or support La Casa directly as you are able. 

Our thanks to John and Tim for taking the time to talk to us about this awesome collaboration. 

Until next time, support local, and be excellent to one another,

Franz