Following a Breakout Limited Release, Award-Winning Fonio Rising Pale Ale Joins Brooklyn Brewery's Core Portfolio
National Release Includes an Event Series Collaboration with African Chop House, Limited-Edition Merch by Chalé, and a Contest to Brew a Fonio Beer with Garrett Oliver at Brooklyn Brewery
BROOKLYN, N.Y., February 20, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Brooklyn Brewery is expanding its core portfolio with the nationwide launch of the award-winning Fonio Rising Pale Ale, following its successful limited release in 2024, where it earned Brewbound's Best New Product of the Year award. First introduced through Brewing for Impact - a campaign of seven global collaborations featuring fonio in celebration of Garrett Oliver's 30th anniversary as brewmaster - Fonio Rising Pale Ale continues to highlight the brewing potential of the ancient, climate-resistant West African grain fonio. The growing interest and enthusiasm for Oliver's pioneering work with fonio - which he began experimenting with in 2019 - has firmly established the grain in Brooklyn Brewery's innovation efforts, leading to Fonio Rising Pale Ale becoming a permanent, year-round addition to the core lineup.
Fonio Rising Pale Ale is a crisp, dry pale ale bursting with tropical passionfruit and citrus flavors. Brewed with a blend of two-row pale malt and fonio, and dry-hopped with Strata and Citra, it delivers a snappy, refreshing finish. The beer's balanced complexity makes it an ideal pairing for grilled seafood, spicy dishes, mango salsa, Yassa chicken, and fish tacos.
"In my 35 years of brewing, I've never seen an ingredient or innovation excite beer drinkers and other brewers quite like this. Backed by 5,000 years of cultivation, fonio grows in near-desert conditions without chemicals, tilling, or irrigation, while supporting thousands of smallholder farmers. It's an incredible grain that makes incredible beer—fonio's got everything," explains Brooklyn Brewery's James Beard Award-winning Brewmaster Garrett Oliver. "With Fonio Rising Pale Ale joining our core lineup, African-grown fonio is finally reaching the mainstream—not just as a sustainable and socially impactful crop, but as an ingredient that makes great tasting beer. It gives this pale ale a tropical lilt that's really delicious."
To celebrate Fonio Rising Pale Ale, Brooklyn Brewery is partnering with African Chop House - a cultural organization that brings people together through African food, music, and conversation - for a series of events throughout 2025 spotlighting African culture and craft. Details for the events - which will bring together bold flavors, rich culture, and more community celebration - will be announced soon. Additionally, Brooklyn Brewery and African Chop House have put together a limited-edition merchandise collection, designed by forward-thinking designer and all around creative Chalé, which will be available for purchase in the Tasting Room and online at the end of February.
The Brewery is also launching the Brew a Beer with Brooklyn Brewery contest, offering one winner the chance to help craft a unique fonio-based beer alongside Oliver and his team. The grand prize includes a trip to NYC to take part in the brewing process, a collaboration with Brooklyn Brewery's designers to create a custom beer label, and an exclusive return visit for the beer's launch party. Full details can be found here.
Fonio Rising Pale Ale debuted last September as a limited release under Brooklyn Brewery's Brewing for Impact initiative, a campaign designed to unite people, cultures, and traditions through beer. As part of the campaign, a global coalition of brewers—including Maison Kalao (Senegal), Thornbridge (UK), Omnipollo (Sweden), Carlsberg (Denmark), Russian River (US), Jing-A (China), and Guinness—crafted unique beers with fonio, showcasing its brewing potential and honoring Africa's deep-rooted influence on beer's history.
Now a permanent addition to Brooklyn Brewery's core lineup, Fonio Rising Pale Ale celebrates the grain known as the "Seed of the Universe"—a resilient crop that thrives in poor soil without fertilizers or pesticides, regenerates land, and provides vital income for West African smallholder farmers, most of whom are women. Fonio Rising Pale Ale continues to push the boundaries of craft brewing while showcasing how tradition and innovation can coexist in every pour.
DISTRIBUTION: Fonio Rising Pale Ale will be sold in 6PK of 12oz cans and on draft, available across the United States starting in late February.
ABOUT BROOKLYN BREWERY:
Brooklyn Brewery is a leading global independent craft brewer and a pioneer of the American craft beer revolution. From our home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, we are always in the making, drawing inspiration from our local community of innovators, makers, and doers to spread the culture and creativity of craft beer to 30 states and over 30 countries on 5 continents. Learn more at brooklynbrewery.com.
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