Dry Dock Brewing's Cool Lime Lager isn't the biggest joke-beer that ended up being popular enough to package: that honor belongs to the Wynkoop's Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout, which started as an April Fool's Day prank before becoming a full-fledged part of the brewery's canned lineup. But the popularity of the Cool Lime certainly took Dry Dock by surprise.
The beer was created a year ago specifically for Old Chicago, which was celebrating Cinco de Mayo. It was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek spoof on Bud Light Lime, Miller Chill and other mass-produced lime-infused beers. “It disappeared from the tasting room in a heartbeat,” says brewery co-founder Kevin DeLange. “And Old Chicago said it was really successful for them as well. It was a great deal for us and such an awesome, refreshing beer that we decided to bring it back as a seasonal in bombers.”
In fact, DeLange says he forgot about the original joke:“It's just something we really liked...and this way, I don't have to buy Ska's Mexican lager as such and squeeze a bunch of limes into it. That is my other favorite.” Last year's version had three kinds of lime products in it, including Kaffir lime leaves and fresh lime juice. This year's rendition, at 5.2 percent ABV, was brewed – after a couple of test runs – with the leaves again and with a special kind of dehydrated Asian limes, DeLange says.
From noon to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 24, Dry Dock will release the beer in 22-ounce bomber bottles and on tap for the first time at the Canoe Room inside its north Aurora production facility. The summer seasonal will also be available on liquor-store shelves (and at Dry Dock's other location) in May.