Rochester’s Strangebird brewery is providing a bit of a tropical flair for one of the Finger Lakes region’s favorite near-the-end-of-summer festivals.
Clothesline State of Mind, a sour ale brewed with paw paw fruit and pink peppercorn, will be available during the two-day M&T Bank Clothesline Art & Fine Craft Festival at the Memorial Art Gallery.
When is the Clothesline Art & Fine Craft Festival?
The 69th annual festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, and continues during the same hours Sunday, Aug. 30, on the gallery grounds, 500 University Ave., Rochester.
The expected thousands of visitors will find nearly 400 artists from around the region.
Live musical entertainment, food trucks and vendors, hands-on family activities, and shopping also await Clothesline fans.
Let’s not forget, beer.
More about Strangebird’s Clothesline State of Mind
With a 4.5% alcohol by volume, this sour ale is on the lighter side. And as described by the brewing folks, the beer delivers a tropical fruit-forward profile balanced by a zesty, woody snap on the finish.
The beer is meant to be a celebration of the creativity of the arts community and the craft brewing community in Rochester, according to Mike Singer of Strangebird.
And it was a no-brainer, by the way, to come up with something special and exclusive for this popular arts event.
“It was an incredible opportunity to team up with a pillar of our community and showcase our beer at one of the longest-running arts festivals in the country,” Singer said in a statement. “It’s truly a privilege.”
The beer also is a celebration of the Americas. Why? Allow Singer to explain.
“This beer brings together the Americas through ingredients from throughout the continent — a little north, a little central, a little south, all working in harmony,” Singer stated. “With any luck, it’ll help bring our community together, too.”
Wait, what’s a paw paw?
Well, we had to look it up, too.
Serious Eats calls it “America’s Best Secret Fruit?” in an article on its website.
The paw paw is described as “a riot of mango-banana-citrus” and grows on fruit trees from the Great Lakes to the Florida Panhandle, the article explains.
Where to find the Clothesline State of Mind
Festivalgoers will find Clothesline State of Mind available in cans at multiple indoor and outdoor Brown Hound locations throughout the festival grounds while supplies last.
You can’t miss the brightly decorated cans.
What to eat with your Clothesline State of Mind
All this beer talk may be making you hungry. Here is the list of food truck and food vendor offerings during the festival weekend.
They include: Big Papa Tacos, Cousins Maine Lobster, Eat Greek, Falanga’s Cotton Candy, Frios Gourmet Pops, Grass Fed Vegan Butchershop, Ice Cream & Chill, KOBQ Korean Fusion Grill, Love, Fern, & Co., Macarollin Gourmet Mac & Cheese, Melt Food Truck, ROCDilla Quesadillas, Rochester Kettle Corn, Shakin’ Smiles Lemonade, and Tuscan Wood Fired Pizza.
Offerings from Ugly Duck and Brown Hound Downtown can be found inside the museum.
More details about the M&T Bank Clothesline Art & Fine Craft Festival
The festival map and full list of participating artists is available at https://mag.rochester.edu/clothesline/map-artist-list/.
Tickets for the festival are $5; admission is free for Memorial Art Gallery members.
Parking is free at Gleason Works’ south parking lot on University Avenue, and a free shuttle to and from the gallery is available from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. both days. Parking with shuttle service is also available at the East End garage, but there is a fee.
More information about the M&T Bank Clothesline Art & Fine Craft Festival, including the live music lineup, can be found at https://mag.rochester.edu/clothesline/.
Mike Murphy covers Canandaigua and other communities in Ontario County and writes the Eat, Drink and Be Murphy food and drink column. He can be reached at mmurphy@messengerpostmedia.com. Follow him on X at @MPN_MikeMurphy.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Strangebird brewery debuts ‘secret fruit’ ale for festival
Reporting by Mike Murphy, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mike Murphy, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | USA TODAY Network
