I’ve known about this for a while, but had to keep it under my hat until it was officially announced: Tampa’s Cigar City Brewing and Cleveland’s Great Lakes Brewing are collaborating!
The beers will be a Black Lager and a Black Ale, both called Wandering Pelican. CCB head brewer Wayne Wambles is 
currently in Cleveland working on the Black Lager, and the crew from Great Lakes will be in Tampa next week to brew the Black Ale. According to a news release: “The name Wandering Pelican pays homage to a Brown Pelican who made the journey from Florida to Ohio’s Lake Erie Coast during the summer of 2013. Swapping saltwater for fresh, feeding on shad instead of mullet, this welcome stranger made Lake Erie his home for several months and became an unlikely local celebrity. Both of these beers will honor our courageous friend who wandered off the beaten path to find his home.”
Portions of the proceeds from the CCB version, which will be released in cans, will go to the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary.
These are two of my favorite breweries, and I like to think that I helped a little in bringing this about. You see, when I was visiting Ohio for Cleveland Beer Week in October, I was chatting with Great Lakes head brewer Luke Purcell, and he told me that they’ve been wanting to collaborate with Cigar City for a while. He asked me if I had a contact there, and I gave him owner Joey Redner’s phone number.
Of course, it likely would have happened anyway without my help, but it’s still cool to know that maybe I had a small part in it. And Luke, you still owe me that recipe! 😉
Luke Purcell of Great Lakes Brewing, left, and Wayne Wambles of Cigar City Brewing in the tasting room at the Cleveland brewery. (Photo courtesy of Cigar City Brewing).
Here’s the release with all the details.
Cigar City Brewing and Great Lakes Brewing Company Announce Collaboration
Tampa, FL- April 18, 2014—Cigar City Brewing and Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC) are proud to announce two collaboration beers, both called Wandering Pelican. This unique effort will consist of a Black Lager and a Black Ale made by both breweries. Cigar City Brewing Brewmaster Wayne Wambles will travel to Cleveland during the week of April 14th to start work on the Black Lager which will be released in 22oz. bottles. The following week Great Lakes Brewing will be in Tampa working on a Black Ale which will be packaged in 12oz. cans.
The name Wandering Pelican pays homage to a Brown Pelican who made the journey from Florida to Ohio’s Lake Erie Coast during the summer of 2013. Swapping saltwater for fresh, feeding on shad instead of mullet, this welcome stranger made Lake Erie his home for several months and became an unlikely local celebrity. Both of these beers will honor our courageous friend who wandered off the beaten path to find his home.
Cigar City Brewing will release Wandering Pelican Black Ale on May 19th. The beer will go into limited distribution in Florida and a portion of the proceeds from the release party will benefit the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary of Indian Shores, FL. The Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, Inc. is the largest wild bird hospital and bird sanctuary in the United States, based on the admission of up to 8,000 birds per year.
Great Lakes Brewing Company will release Wandering Pelican Black Lager on May 19th (tentative). The screenprinted 22oz. bottles will be sold exclusively in the GLBC Gift Shop. Customers will find a limited amount of Wandering Pelican Black Lager on draft throughout GLBC’s distribution footprint.
