You don’t need to know that its name is a reference to “The Blues Brothers” or order three of them like John Candy’s character in that movie to enjoy the new hazy IPA, Orange Whip, at Fortside Brewing Company’s Tasting Room.
Some may classify this foamy, orange-tasting, cloudy IPA as a New England IPA. Co-owner, Mike DiFabio, prefers the term “hazy IPA, to forgo the whole New England thing.” Mike came up with a western-themed name to focus on the fact that this beer is brewed here in the West (not New England) and to acknowledge the Eldorado Hops in the beer that give it an orange flavor. Co-owner, Mark Doleski put the kibosh on it. Doleski thought the name that DiFabio created was so cheesy that he focused on finding a better name.
According to Doleski, “The beer was very orange. After I tried it, I was thinking something like Orange Crush or orange juice.” Doleski then thought back to his time in Chicago with his friends who frequently quote the Windy City film “The Blues Brothers.” “So, there is a specific group of friends I have in Chicago and that’s what we always say. And, it really just means a beer. Want an Orange Whip? Orange Whip? Three Orange Whips.”
After discussing and trying the Orange Whip, I toured the brewery and it became clear that this is a green, environmentally friendly business. Brewers/owners DiFabio and Doleski use natural gas to heat the tanks, reuse the water used to heat and cool the tanks, and the solid waste from the wort is used by a local farmer to feed his pigs. The Tasting Room is built out in beautifully reclaimed wood. The boards on the walls were all reclaimed import pallets and crates from their neighbor’s business. The live edge Silver Leaf Maple that they made into a bar was salvaged from a Brush Prairie farmer’s fallen tree.
