Elysian and Sub Pop Winning with Loser Six-Packs

Now in its fourth year of celebrating Sub Pop Records’ twentieth anniversary with Loser Pale Ale, Seattle’s Elysian Brewing announces the release of this year’s Loser in twelve ounce bottles.

Loser is a distinctive pale ale brewed with Sorachi Ace and Crystal hops, weighing in at 7% abv. Its first brewing in 2009 was a collaboration between Elysian and Sub Pop, and was served backstage at the indie label’s celebration festival held at Marymoor Park, where such classic Sub Pop acts as Mudhoney, Low and Green River played, along with more modern stalwarts such as Iron and Wine and the Fleet Foxes. Bottled Loser bore the slogan “Corporate Beer Sucks,” a reference to the shirt (Corporate Rock Sucks) worn by Kurt Cobain when Nirvana first graced the cover of Rolling Stone. It has come back every year since as a summer seasonal, with later labels reading “Corporate Beer Still Sucks,” a nod to the second Nirvana RS cover appearance.

Both the Loser six-pack carrier and mother case box are generic white with stencil-effect lettering like the crates holding touring bands’ equipment. There’s no end of cleverness when local alternative institutions like Sub Pop and Elysian get together!

-Dick Cantwell