Tap Handle #776: Wicked Weed (AB InBev) - Freak of Nature Double IPA

April 23, 2021

Tap Handle #776: Wicked Weed (AB InBev) - Freak of Nature Double IPA

Tap size: 9.5"

Rarity: readily available

Mounting: oversized ferrule on 3/8" anchor bolt

Freak of Nature is the first of 6(!) Wicked Weed taps that will eventually be featured in the Museum. All of the aforementioned Wicked Weed taps are extremely unusual in design and appearance. This one features a tentacle-like plant stalk, wide at the base and curling into a tip that resembles a fern before it unrolls. In addition it has spiny protrusions that run the entire length of the tentacle in two columns, with yellow flowers in a few places. I'm not aware of any known plant that looks like this, so I'm definitely getting a sci-fi or fantasy vibe from its appearance. The name of the brewery encircles the wide base, against a nice artist background, in the form of a decal. Another decal runs up the side with the name of the beer on it in white lettering in an old-world font. I can't tell whether the finish is matte or semi-gloss (I'm leaning towards the latter), but it's a brilliant choice to make the plant appear more realistic. Though it's a little on the smaller side compared to many other taps, Freak of Nature has a way of drawing your eye due to the subject matter. It first showed up on the secondary market back around 2016, and for a short time commanded prices north of $200. Now, however, they are easy to find and very reasonable in price.

Wicked Weed Brewing Company was founded in Asheville, North Carolina in 2012 by Walt and Luke Dickinson and friends Ryan, Rick and Denise Guthy. In 2009, Walt and Luke dreamed about opening their own brewery that would focus on big, West Coast hoppy ales and authentic Belgian ales. For the next two years, a preliminary business plan was developed and test batches were brewed. In 2011, Walt and Luke’s lifelong friend Ryan Guthy and his parents Rick and Denise met to taste Luke and Walt’s brew, while discussing ideas and strategies for opening a brewery. For the brewery name they drew inspiration from a quote by Henry VIII calling hops a “a wicked and pernicious weed” and destined to ruin beer...the name Wicked Weed is a tongue in cheek jab at how wrong he was!

For the location of their brewpub, they found an old two-story hardware store built in the 1920s and installed a 15 barrel brewing system. The brewpub featured a rustic atmosphere, with plank-style tables and chairs complementing the renovated brick of the historic building, indoor and pet-friendly outdoor dining, a tap room for tasting called the beer bar, and a bottle shop/gift shop. Fully up and running in 2012, they cranked out 150 beers per year, with 25 or more beers on tap at any time, including hop-forward, West Coast-style ales, open fermented Belgians, and barrel-aged beers. Early on, Pernicious IPA established itself as Wicked Weed’s flagship beer. The pub offered a fair-sized menu of appetizers, sandwiches, burgers and entrees, and a full-service bar with craft cocktails and wine.

In 2013, the growth of the brewery's sour beer program led them to open the "Funkatorium," the first (and largest) dedicated sour beer taproom and barrel house on the East Coast, located a few blocks away from the brewpub. It housed 1,000 wooden casks of their barrel-aged beers. The bar in the Belgium-inspired taproom is made of reclaimed poplar and the tables were created by a local artisan from reclaimed heart pine that was retrieved from Old Crow Distillery in Kentucky. A sour-beer festival called the Funkatorium Invitational followed the opening of the Funkatorium. In 2014, Wicked Weed began to distribute beer throughout North Carolina. To keep up with demand, they opened their 50 barrel Clean Production Facility, "Wicked Weed West", located in Candler, North Carolina. Flagship brands like Pernicious and Freak of Nature were bottled there for the first time.

By 2016, distribution had expanded to over 2,000 plus accounts statewide and also into Atlanta, Georgia. They released their first ever 6 pack cans, and opened new markets in Massachusetts, Washington DC, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. More distribution meant more demand for sour beer so Wicked Weed opened their Headquarters and Sour Beer Production Facility, The Funk House, in Arden, North Carolina, which also served as a training facility. Wicked Weed moved their first brands into cans while completing a 30,000 square foot expansion of Wicked Weed West. The brewery was named the best craft brewery in North Carolina by Thrillist, and the best in the 17-state South by Southern Living magazine.

In 2017 Wicked Weed was acquired by Anheuser-Busch’s The High End, a division of AB-InBev. Though the exact terms of the sale were unknown, Wicked Weed received at least $18 million of capital expenditure funding for building infrastructure, like a new canning line to help meet growing demand, and the brewery could now cold-store and cold-ship all its beers to help ensure optimal quality. Employment increased to 340 people, 315 of them in the Asheville area. About 70 percent of the non-pub employees on board during the time of the acquisition remained. Reactions to the sale were swift and furious, with condemnation from some customers who accused Wicked Weed of selling out. Several companies announced they would not be working with Wicked Weed nor selling their beers. Black Project Brewery, which was in the middle of two collaborations with Wicked Weed, announced that it would cease its relationship due to the sale, citing AB InBev's "business strategies, mission, and overall ethics."

In 2019, Wicked Weed donated over $1.6M to Asheville non-profit organizations through the launch of their Beers that Build program. They expanded distribution throughout the Northeast including Manhattan, as well as South Carolina. In Tennessee, not only was distribution established, but a bar was added at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Next, the brewery added an outpost at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, an 816-square-foot stall located within a new food court. It accommodated up to 24 taps, and while the Wicked Weed bar didn't offer food, it was surrounded by other dining spots. The bar allowed Wicked Weed to reach travelers on a national and international scale who may not have had the opportunity to try their beers. In addition to the new airport location, the Funkatorium received a large expansion, which added an event space and beer garden. Expansion also came to Wicked Weed West in Candler, which added a state-of-the-art laboratory and a public taproom overlooking the entire production facility, giving guests a front row seat to the brewing process.

That same year, the brewery opened its first fine-dining restaurant, Cultura. This coincided with the release of Cultura 2019, the spontaneously fermented line of beer that bears the same name as the brewery's restaurant. The hope was that Cultura, the restaurant, would always have Cultura, the beer, on hand. To influence the yeasts and bacteria that settle into the beer, the brewery planted about 150 apple fruit trees on its 18 acres of Arden land, mostly English and French cider apples. There are even red-fleshed apples native to Kyrgyzstan. The 2019 Cultura line was composed of three different blends of one-, two- and three-year barrel-aged lambic-style beer. A portion of each blend was hand-bottled as-is, but some was re-fermented with either local blackberries, peaches or local red muscadine grapes, resulting in six distinctly different brews.

Wicked Weed has been the recipient of several awards over the years. The brewery was awarded a gold medal for both 100% Brettanomyces Serenity in 2013 and Mompara Honey Ale in 2014, a silver medal for Pernicious IPA in 2015, and a silver medal for Lunatic Belgian Blonde at the Great American Beer Festival. The brewery also received a bronze medal for Tyrant Double Red IPA in 2014, a bronze medal for La Bonté Pear in 2016 and a bronze medal for Red Angel in 2016 at the World Beer Cup.

Wicked Weed's Freak of Nature is a San Francisco-inspired hoppy monster. At 8.4% abv and who knows how many ibu’s, this beer is Wicked Weed's shrine to the Hop. Absurd amounts of all the big West Coast hops give this beer it’s citrusy weedy nose and big dank hop flavor. Drinking this beer is like stuffing your face into a bag of fresh hops while eating a tangerine. It is dry hopped with 48 pounds per batch or over 3 pounds of hops per barrel. In following with the classic style of the West Coast double, sugar plays a big part in creating this dry and minimally bitter double IPA.