With more than a few references to craft beer in his Instagram posts, Seabus Memes has an obvious love for Vancouver's brewery scene.
Now, the man, the memelord, the legend himself has collaborated with Container Brewing in Strathcona to create Seabus Sauce, an imperial pilsner. The beer was inspired not only by his tastes, but also the beers that appear on his account, especially Pabst Blue Ribbon and one local favourite.
"Obviously we wanted it to have a decent ABV (7%), as an ode to Driftwood’s Fat Tug IPA - which has been a huge source of inspiration for a lot of my content - but also have it be smoother and easier drinking, which is why we decided on a pilsner style," says the meme creator in an email to Vancouver Is Awesome.
The beer actually came about with a stroke of luck, given the size of Vancouver. It just happened that Dan Webster, co-owner of Container knew a guy who knew a guy.
"It was basically a friend of a friend is pals with the Seabus Memes guy and I mentioned he was hilarious," Webster says.
That got back to the meme creator and led to them getting together to discuss Seabus Sauce, a name that long-time fans of the Instagram account might recognize. It was actually the first thing that was decided about the beer, as in 2018 he posted about a fictional beer from 'Translink Brewing' with the same name.
"I’ve posted a lot of fake products on my page before, but that was one of the only ones where I was like 'maybe this could actually become real one day,'" says the meme creator.
From there the two worked out what the beer should be.
"Dan just kind of asked me what some of my favourite beers were, and then brewed it to reflect the qualities I enjoyed about them," says the meme creator.
"It was great, because he came in just a bit before opening and I served him a bunch of samples," says Webster.
Aside from the liquid, Seabus Memes and Container collaborated on the design too. With dark black cans, a black label and a pink/teal colour scheme they really stand out in a beer fridge.
"I designed the 'Seabus Sauce' logo, and then Container’s in-house designer and I both had input on the rest of the label design. I’m not sure whose decision it was to have the can itself be all-black, but I absolutely love it. I think the packaging came together amazing, I can’t say enough about it," says the man behind the memes.
Webster says Container only brewed a 2,000 L batch, so it's a seriously limited edition beer of about 3,000 cans.
"I would be shocked if we have any Seabus Sauce after this weekend," he says, noting his delivery guy was out delivering to local stores on June 9.
That's good news for the B.C. Children's Hospital as proceeds will go to its foundation. Webster says even though it's a small batch, he's writing a $2,500 cheque (or about $1 a can) thanks to the collaboration from suppliers and others in the creation of the beer.
"At the end o the day our brewery is really leveraging his brand, so let's make this more meaningful," says Webster, adding that Seabus Memes was the one who suggested the hospital.
"We're a small brewery, so it's probably the most significant fundraiser beer we've done," he notes.
While this is the first Seabus Memes collaboration, more could join in.
"I’d love to do more stuff like this. People keep asking me when the Seabus Memes Hard Seltzer is coming out, and I have to be like 'I dunno, maybe soon?!'"
So what's Seabus Sauce like?
Webster said the goal was something smooth, and they got there. If it didn't say it was seven per cent ABV you wouldn't guess it (for comparison, PBR is 4.8 per cent ABV).
"I love it! It really did turn out to be everything I hoped it would be. It’s a strong beer that’s clean, crisp and easy drinking," says Seabus Memes in the email; there's no argument from me on that.
It's got a bit more of a malty after taste than some lagered beers, but other than that it's a pretty straightforward, smooth pilsner. If that's a style you like, it's worth checking out (if you can get your hands on one).
For those unfamiliar with the style, this is a beer that tastes like how people imagine beers would taste. It doesn't stray far from the path of classics.
The packaging asks "You've seen memes before, but have you ever tried one?"
I hadn't until now, but I'm willing to try more meme beers.
