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Total Eclipse of the Heart: Beers of the 2024 Solar Eclipse
Special glasses not needed...at least to drink!
As people across portions of the United States await the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, cities in the path of totality are even more excited. Only in one of these cities can you observe the eclipse fully. Breweries are embracing the day by creating unique beers for the occasion.
From stouts to lagers to even steam beer, these breweries are creating beers to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime celestial event. Let’s look at six of these breweries to see what they have planned for the last total eclipse in the contiguous United States until 2044.
The Best Beers of the 2024 Eclipse
Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Cleveland, OH
Label courtesy of Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Beer Created for the Eclipse: Vanilla Blackout Stout
Brewer: Mark Hunger
ABV: 10.5%
Founded in 1988 as Cleveland’s original craft brewery, the Great Lakes Brewing Co. brewpub is a popular destination for beer lovers. In honor of the 2003 blackout that affected more than 50 million people in the northeastern United States, Great Lakes created the Blackout Stout. As an homage to that beer, Great Lakes is brewing Vanilla Blackout Stout to celebrate the 2024 solar eclipse.
Brewed with vanilla, Simcoe and Nugget hops, and a malt blend that includes roasted barley and black malt, this dark, rich beer will have a slight bitterness with some complex notes of coffee and chocolate.
“The addition of vanilla to the original Blackout Stout is our way of expressing the different phases of the eclipse,” says Marissa DeSantis, Great Lakes Brewing Co.’s Brand Marketing Manager. “We felt a rich, dark beer was fitting, and the ‘sliver’ of vanilla, as we call it, on the can is a nod to the moon passing in front of the sun and the obscuring of light in phases.”
Paring well with steak, barbecued meats, and decadent chocolatey desserts, the Vanilla Blackout Stout comes in special cans. In addition, Great Lakes Brewing Co. is one of a limited number of breweries selected to participate in the Simons Foundation’s “In the Path of Totality” Brewery Trail. As such, Great Lakes will be brewing an additional to-be-named draft-only small-batch release. Completely different than the Vanilla Blackout Stout, this beer will only be available in the Great Lakes Brewing Co. brewpub while supplies last.
“We wanted to do something special to celebrate our hometown’s spot in the path of totality,” said Desantis. “We know our city will be buzzing during the eclipse, so commemorating this major event with a special beer was simply too good to pass up!”
Market Garden Brewery
Cleveland, OH
Graphic courtesy of Market Garden Brewery
Beer Created for the Eclipse: The Totality
Brewers: Andy Tveekrem and Patrick Daniels
ABV: 6%
Market Garden Brewery planned a total eclipse party, and they’re brewing The Totality beer to help build anticipation leading up to the event. Market Garden brews the hazy IPA with Galaxy hops and Cosmic Punch thiolized yeast to, as Market Garden’s Co-Founder and Chief Beer Taster Sam McNulty puts it, “bring celestial flavors from the firmament (sky) down to us umbraphiles (eclipse chasers).”
He continues, “Market Garden Brewery won’t be in the path of another total solar eclipse after this one until 2444. So rather than wait another 420 [years], we decided to go all in with our creation now!”
Currently in production and available on draft at Market Garden’s brewpub and restaurant in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland, The Totality’s first production was so successful that McNulty says they are considering canning and kegging it to include in their regular lineup.
Sun King Brewery
Indianapolis, IN
Label courtesy of Sun King Brewery
Beer Created for the Eclipse: In The Path of Totality
Brewer: Dave Colt
ABV: 5.3%
Following the transition of a solar eclipse from light to dark guided Sun King Brewery Co-Founder and Brewmaster Dave Colt to create In The Path of Totality.
One of Indiana’s largest breweries, with multiple medals from the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup®, Sun King is known for creative beers, and The Path of Totality is no exception.
Sun King brewed the coffee-infused golden ale with two-row malted barley and liberty hops to add a hint of lemongrass.
“Since a solar eclipse is a transition from light to darkness to light, we choose a golden ale as the base,” says Colt. “The coffee will add spicy and intense dark cocoa notes to the beer, combining the phases of the eclipse into one tasty beverage.”
A limited-edition beer, The Path of Totality, will be released in mid-March and available in collectible cans and on draft in their downtown Indianapolis tap room. There will also be a special event at the same location on the day of the eclipse to help support their community partners.
“We’re rarely afforded opportunities for shared joy and wonder on this scale,” says Colt. “For those of us in the path of totality, the solar eclipse will connect us, even if only for a few minutes. It’s a celebration of this unique cosmic occurrence.”
Rohrbach Brewing Company
Rochester, NY
Label courtesy of Rohrbach Brewing Co.
Beer Created for the Eclipse: Totality Black Lager
Brewer: Joel Will
ABV: 5.2%
With three minutes and thirty-eight seconds of totality during the eclipse, Rochester has plenty of reasons to celebrate this special event. Three local breweries each brewed a beer representing the three phases of an eclipse: the light side, the dark side, and the complete totality.
The first craft brewery in Rochester, Rohrbach Brewing Company, created Totality Black Lager
as part of this partnership.
Brewed with all Czech Saaz hops, Rohrbach owner John Urlaub says the brewery designed the beer to finish smooth with a mild ABV so that customers can enjoy one or more while watching.
“The name and style were developed by all the employees at Rohrback Brewing Company,” says Urlaub. “Back in September 2022, we began the process of brainstorming, and by August 2023, a name was chosen, and a small pilot batch brewed.”
The result?
A dark-colored lager with aromatic notes of caramel, sweet bread, and milk chocolate with a minimal roast that pairs with a dry-rubbed steak, rye bread with sharp cheddar cheese, and even biscotti.
The Totality has an official release date of March 6, 2024, and will be a limited-edition release for the Rochrbach lineup.
Strangebird
Rochester, NY
Beer Created for the Eclipse: The Lighter Side
Brewer: Micah Krichinsky and Eric Salazar
ABV: 5.4%
The second brewery in Rochester with a beer for the Great American Eclipse is Strangebird. The 2022 New York State Craft Brewery of the Year, Strangebird, celebrates the solar eclipse with The Lighter Side.
The Strangebird team “jumped at the opportunity to be a part of this collaboration with Rohrbach and Three Heads,” says Dena Krichinsky, president of Strangebird. “The brewing community is tight in Rochester, and we could think of no better way to celebrate the upcoming eclipse than being a part of this very special collaboration.”
Created using Best Heidelberg as a base malt to give it a light color, The Lighter Side also uses Hallertau MF hops for bittering and Tettnang for aroma, along with some Czech Saaz added to the whirlpool. The beer then rests in neutral oak for a prolonged conditioning phase.
“We like to use wood a a flavor contributor because we have a ringer, brewer Eric Salazar, who was the wood cellar manager at New Belgium,” says Strangebird Brewer Michah Krichinsky. “We hope this adds a subtle softness to The Lighter Side.”
Salazar says using neutral oak allows Strangebird to bring out the beer’s personality, sometimes missing in a stainless lagered beer.
“Neutral oak simply means that most of the tannins and vanillins present in the staves have been drawn out with previous aging processes,” he says. “What we’re left with imparts only very subtle aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel profiles.”
The team at Strangebird says experimentation drives the beers they create. With its moderate haze, the light straw color of The Lighter Side will be a perfect beer for the eclipse.
With a release date of early March 2024, The Lighter Side will be a limited-release beer that the brewery doesn’t plan to brew again until 2144 when Rochester is once again in the path of totality for a solar eclipse. Fans can grab a glass at the brewery’s eclipse party, featuring food, kid’s activities, and unique glassware to commemorate the special occasion.
Graphic courtesy of Rohrbach Brewing Company
Three Heads Brewing
Rochester, NY
Beer Created for the Eclipse: The Darker Side: Steam Style Lager
Brewer: Casey Kindlon and Derek Armstrong
ABV: 5.4%
The third location participating in the Rochester partnership, Three Heads Brewing, was built on friendships and a love of beers. That love and respect combine to create The Darker Side: Steam Style Lager.
Three Heads selected the California common, aka steam style, because it’s “basically the only indigenous American beer style,” brewery President and Founder Dan Nothnagle said. “We wanted to celebrate this American experience with a uniquely American beer.”
By including Caramel Steam malt and Halletau Tradition hops, the brewers give drinkers a graham cracker flavor along with spicy, fruity flavors. Three Heads will release The Darker Side: Steam Style Lager in late February and is available for a limited time. Three Heads will also host an eclipse party with many activities and souvenir pint glasses.
“Like everyone in the region, we’re enthusiastic to be in the line of totality for the total eclipse,” said Nothnagle. “We’re throwing a big party with music and food. We wanted a new, great beer to help celebrate!”
About The Author
Marcea Cazel (she/her) is a culturally immersive travel writer who loves to visit a great brewery. A contributor to publications such as TripSavvy, Trips to Discover and Tinybeans, she writes about cruising, food and beer, Black history, and street art. Marcea also enjoys writing about her home state of Florida and sharing that there’s so much more to do there than just visiting the theme parks. When not writing or traveling, she likes kayaking, reading and drinking a great locally made sour.
