(Press Release)

SAN FRANCISCO—Two iconic San Francisco institutions embarking on their 20th Anniversaries, ThirstyBear Organic Brewery (Sept. 2016) and Clowns Without Borders (Sept. 2015), partner to help bring smiles to families and craft beer lovers across the Bay Area with the limited-edition release of a new summer seasonal Double IPA, Hop Clown. To celebrate 20 years of Clowns Without Borders’ exceptional work with children living in areas of crisis, ThirstyBear will donate $0.50 from each sale of Hop Clown to the standout non-profit. Clowns Without Borders Founder Moshe Cohen will perform a special free family show at ThirstyBear to help kick-off the release of Hop Clown on Saturday, July 11, 2015 at 12:30 pm. Please join Bay Area beer geeks at this fun free family-friendly performance, and for a complimentary appetizer during the show, please RSVP in advance via Eventbrite.

Intentionally named to represent the ridiculous amount of hops that goes into Hop Clown Double IPA, it is brewed with organic Magnum, Bravo, Zeus and Wakatu hops in the kettle and dry hopped with Simcoe. As ThirstyBear Brewmaster Brenden Dobel notes, “In coming up with the recipe, I was thinking this Double IPA is hopped to comical levels. A slightly unhinged, almost Harlequin-like character first came to mind, so we called it Hop Clown. It’s looking to be a 85 IBU and 9.5% ABV monster of a beer. Whether you have one or a couple, you’ll definitely have a smile on your face!”

“We’re thrilled to share a performance in ThirstyBear’s celebratory atmosphere,” says Moshe Cohen, “We’ll be offering families and friends a fun and funny moment in support of Clowns Without Borders’ work of bringing laughter and celebration into the places where it is most needed on the planet.”

ThirstyBear’s Founding Brewmaster Ron Silberstein adds, “Our mission is really quite simple, we want people to take time from their hectic days to share in good times. Clowns Without Borders brings joy to people in the midst of tragedy — war torn regions, refugees, and victims of natural disasters. Laughter is good medicine, especially in times of crisis. ThirstyBear couldn’t be happier to offer a little bit of help along the way with Clowns Without Borders’ singular efforts.”

Throughout the remainder of 2015, Clowns Without Borders will positively influence the lives of countless children around the world. Since Cohen officially launched the organization in 1995, Clowns Without Borders’ 12 international chapters have collectively performed for more than 4 million kids. In July 2015, they’ll have artists in Turkey, training with Turkish performers and performing for Syrian refugees. In August 2015, they are sending a troupe to the Kakuma refugee camp in Northern Kenya, in partnership with UNHCR. Half Kenyan and half South Sudanese people, this is one of the largest and best-known refugee camps in the world. Clowns Without Borders is looking to develop a 3-year partnership with UNHCR in this camp, to send groups multiple times a year.

Several international Clowns Without Borders chapters are currently in Nepal, and the US chapter is exploring partner organizations for their upcoming work in Nepal. This fall, they’ll send performers to Clown Encuentro in Colombia, to be followed by a program in collaboration with their Colombian Partners.

Come raise a glass of Hop Clown Double IPA, served exclusively at ThirstyBear, and celebrate its release with a special family show featuring Moshe Cohen and select performers.

About Clowns Without Borders (CWB-USA)
Clowns Without Borders is a non-profit organization which offers laughter to relieve the suffering of all persons, especially children, who live in areas of crisis including refugee camps, conflict zones and emergency situations. Clowns Without Borders partners with individuals and organizations to bring small teams of professional performing artists to share performances and workshops with children and their families who have experienced trauma or crisis. Clowns Without Borders currently has 12 international chapters in 12 different countries. Over the course of the past 20 years, Clowns Without Borders’ 12 chapters have collectively performed for more than 4 million children across the globe.

About ThirstyBear Brewing Co.
Established in 1996, ThirstyBear Organic Brewery is the first and only brewery in San Francisco to brew certified organic beer and become a certified Green Business. Born out of Founding Brewmaster Ron Silberstein’s longstanding commitment to support sustainable agriculture, ThirstyBear brews CCOF and FDA certified organic beer with the finest hops and grains. ThirstyBear sources its ingredients from the world’s most renowned malt houses and premier West Coast organic hop farms to distinctly pair their craft beers with its exquisite Spanish cuisine. Since 2002, Silberstein has collaborated with Brewmaster and Certified Cicerone Brenden Dobel to define a singular German-influenced West Coast style of brewing, with a special emphasis on pilsners, IPAs, stouts, Belgian-inspired ales, cask conditioned ales, session beers, and barrel aged brews. Dobel’s expertise with German beer styles is the result of his extensive training at Doemens Brewing Academy in Munich, Germany.

As one of the first critically acclaimed Spanish tapas restaurants to open in the Bay Area, ThirstyBear’s Executive Chef Robert McCarthy churns out some of the city’s top paella, tapas, charcuterie/cheese and beer pairings, flatbreads, 100% grass-fed beef burgers, and specialty dishes cooked not only with beer, but with beer’s raw ingredients (hops, malts, yeast). In addition to its year-round and seasonal craft beer line-up, ThirstyBear also proudly serves local wines from kegs to reduce its overall carbon footprint.

According to the Brewers Association, which keeps the most comprehensive information on craft breweries in the United States, ThirstyBear brews and serves more craft beer in-house than any other brewpub in San Francisco.