It may come as a surprise to many Chicagoans that their beloved T. rex, Sue, is leading a double life. Since 2000, the 67 million-year-old skeleton has called the Field Museum home, but Sue is also the face of one Iowa-based brewery’s most popular creations.
The Field Museum announced this week that it is partnering with Toppling Goliath Brewing Company to bring its “pseudoSue” American pale ale to the museum’s Field Bistro, as well as develop a brand new beer inspired by the Field Museum’s unique collections. “Toppling Goliath is well-known by beer enthusiasts nationwide for its terrific lineup of beers,” said Megan Williams, director of business enterprises at the Field Museum. “We’re excited to tap into their mastery to help tell some of the many stories here at the museum. And, what better way to tell stories than through and with beer?”
Toppling Goliath initially caught Williams’ attention because of the connection between the company's beer and the museum’s popular dinosaur. At the heart of the new collaboration is pseudoSue, which will be exclusively sold at the museum starting January 25. Visitors can enjoy pseudoSue on tap in the Field Bistro or purchase a four-pack in the museum’s main store.
As part of an ongoing initiative to develop new museum-inspired craft beers, the Field Museum is working with Toppling Goliath brewmasters on a unique creation to be unveiled next fall. Toppling Goliath President Clark Lewey said the company’s creative team will visit the museum in January in order to meet with museum staff and begin developing ideas for the new beer.
“This is probably one of the most exciting things I've been involved with since we started this brewery,” Lewey said. “From the very first time we talked, we felt there’s a synergy here.” And the timing of the partnership works well for Toppling Goliath, which plans to begin distributing throughout Illinois in 2018. “We wanted to do some limited distribution in 2017, so what better place to do it than at the Field Museum,” Lewey added.
This isn’t the first time the Field Museum worked with area breweries. The current partnership is one of several that have been developed in the past four years. Williams said the initial idea came when the museum reopened the Field Bistro. Since then, it has worked with Off Color Brewing and Two Brothers Brewing Company to create three unique craft beers. Off Color, which is behind two beers in the Field Museum’s collection, is currently developing a third beer that should be released in about six months, according to Williams.
“My interests lie in recognizing opportunities and trying to connect the Field Museum to a demographic or a group of people that might not see the Field Museum as a cool and fun place to be.” she said of the brewery partnerships.
As part of the launch of pseudoSue on January 25, the museum will host a special Hop To It event from 6-9pm. Museum members and non-members are invited to come out and meet Lewey and the rest of the Toppling Goliath team, browse behind-the-scenes museum collections related to the brewing process and (of course) sample some pseudoSue.
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