I’m a simple man. Like most bearded bald men in their late 20’s, I only have two hobbies: gaming and waifu pillows craft beer. And while these two do occasionally have crossovers, they are indirect: Super Smash Bros. or Mario Kart tournaments at the local taproom. However, I’m thinking about making a road trip to Canada to try out these Persona, Final Fantasy, and Yakuza themed craft beers from Fuggles & Warlock.
Surfacing earlier this week on the dedicated Persona 5 Reddit community, I actually saw my first glimpse of the Persona 4 Golden themed beer. According to the user, the beer was just added to the lineup in their shop:
Digging around a little bit, this is by all means not a “new” beer line — other members of the community have shown it up as far as two years ago. However, after digging further, it is no wonder that the distinct label hasn’t caught more traction: it is relatively locked to a pretty small area.
Crafted by brewery Fuggles & Warlock, you are only able to find their beer in Canada (where they are based out of), Brazil, Japan, or South Korea. The brewer says in their bio that they are all about “keeping beer weird” which includes a distinct focus on geek culture and gaming. Hell, this is an image they use to advertise on the site:
With that said, they don’t need to make claims when their brands do the talk. While “Personas” (seen above) is a lager that borders on fruity and malty notes, they don’t shy away from changing up flavor profiles. Their Yakuza themed Kiwami beer is on the other end of the spectrum — a sour, brewed using fresh plums. Meanwhile, Shiva — a recurring ice-elemental summon from the Final Fantasy series — is the namesake of their seasonal White IPA with grape notes.
Oh, and if you are looking for another deep cut among gaming references, one of their more popular “core” beers is The Last Strawberry — without a doubt a riff off of Mistwalker’s The Last Story that kickstarted Operation Rainfall for Nintendo Wii. For this beer, we are treated with a Belgiean witbear brewed with strawberries:
This is by no means the only gaming-themed beer, but those are normally licensing deals and not copyright infringement homages. You may remember that indie title STONE launched alongside a limited beer, and the broader Final Fantasy series is no stranger to wine. In fact, they are willing to jump into more fun promotions including Final Fantasy XIV Limit Break chicken (which is exclusive to Japan).
It’s a shame that Fuggles & Warlock are localized to so few countries, because this is definitely a brand I would love to support — especially for RPG drinking benders. That said, you can visit them if you are in the vicinity of British Columbia, or follow some of their posts and developments on both Twitter and Instagram.
The post Brewers Are Making Persona, Final Fantasy and Yakuza Inspired Beer by Lou Contaldi appeared first on DualShockers.