After nine years, three billion miles, and probably a lot of funding, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has officially completed its mission of traveling close to Pluto’s surface. Yes, we know Pluto is not formally a “planet,” but let’s be honest—this news is pretty darn exciting, not to mention revolutionary. That’s why all of us at DIA are considering this a booze worthy event, and what better way to celebrate the exploration of a new world than with one of Bell’s Brewery’s Planet Series beers.
The Michigan craft brewers introduced The Planet Series last year and have been releasing a new planet-inspired selection about every two months since. What was the motivation behind the series, you might ask? Music. Specifically Gustav Holst’s seven-movement orchestral suite, “The Planets.” The almost 50 minute long epic varies from severe to serene depending on the planet’s traditional mythology. Each piece of the movement is unique and corresponds to a different planet in our solar system, making the musical masterpiece the ideal inspiration for those at Bell’s Brewery.
Ironically, Pluto is absent from the series because it had not been discovered by the time Holst wrote his music. Earth was also omitted because technically all beers are “Earth beers”—we say fair enough. Here are the other brews in the series; the order of releases mimics Holst’s composition and not the planets’ actual distances from the Sun.
- Mars, The Bringer of War (August 2014) – Double IPA
- Venus, The Bringer of Peace (October 2014) – Blonde Ale brewed with honey, apricot, vanilla and cardamom
- Mercury, The Winged Messenger (December 2014) – Belgian Single
- Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity (February 2015) – Malt forward Brown Ale
- Saturn, The Bringer of Old Age (April 2015) – Bourbon Barrel-aged Barleywine
- Uranus, The Magician (May 2015) – Black Double IPA
- Neptune, The Mystic (July 2015) – Mystical Stout