All the beer served at Pitchfork Music Festival is from Goose Island, but there’s one that will probably be unfamiliar to most festgoers: Natural Villain. As has been the custom for the past three years, the brewery has collaborated with one of the acts on the bill to create a beer that’s more or less exclusive to the festival. This year it was Chicago rock band Twin Peaks, who play Union Park on Friday at 5:30 PM and are one of the record-breaking nine local acts on the lineup.
Named for a track on Twin Peaks’ first album, Natural Villain is a “garage lager” inspired by some of the band’s favorite beers: Modelo, Pacifico, and Sol. (And to think it was less than two years ago that music writers were habitually leading off profiles of the band by noting its members “still aren’t of legal drinking age.”) “We know a lot happens when making music in the garage, and you need a beer to go with it,” Goose Island brewmaster Jared Jankowski says of the unusual beer category. “Twin Peaks are total garage, and I just felt like it fit them.”
The limited-edition beer launched Tuesday at Cole’s, Emporium, Parson’s Chicken & Fish, Montrose Saloon, and the Owl, but Parson’s and Montrose Saloon have already run through their kegs. Sportsman’s Club and Kaiser Tiger will serve it this weekend. The label was designed by the band, who also created a music video (above) to promote the beer.
Like the Mexican lagers it’s modeled after, Natural Villain is made to be light and refreshing, weighing in at just under 5 percent ABV. The amount of alcohol in the beer, Jankowski says, is definitely something he considers when crafting a brew for Pitchfork. “You’ve got hot weather, festivalgoers are hanging out all day.” Typically, he says, Goose Island aims to keep the fest beers under 6 percent ABV.
Past Goose Island collaborations during Pitchfork have included a Belgian-style wheat ale brewed with Run the Jewels, a kolsch with Sharon Van Etten, and a Helles-style lager with Chance the Rapper.
For advice on what to see at the festival (besides Twin Peaks) and much more, check out the Reader‘s Pitchfork Music Festival preview.