Peabody Brewery Joins 'Endangered Ale' Bid To Save Ipswich River

PEABODY, MA — Peabody's Granite Coast Brewing has joined a North Shore brewery collaborative campaign to help bring awareness to the endangered Ipswich River.

As part of the "Endangered Ale" series, Granite Coast will use a special design from Marblehead artist Amy Hourihan on its cans of Red Hot Moon Kentucky Common.

Granite Coast Marketing and Events Coordinator Amy Luckiewicz said Granite Coach Brewing is one of 11 local craft breweries that are participating in the Endangered Ale campaign.

According to the Ipswich River Watershed, the river is considered among the most endangered in the country because of pressures from the climate crisis.

"The Ipswich has recently suffered from the worst two droughts in the river's history," former U.S. Senator and Special Climate Envoy John Kerry said. "Both of which have occurred in the last five years. This has impacted the primary drinking water source for 350,000 people and local businesses."

Granite Coast Brewing Co-Owner Rob Dunn said he is especially happy about this collaboration as an outdoor educator.

"The Ipswich River is part of the lifeblood of the North Shore," Dun said. "So many people pull water from it and countless others come to its shores to enjoy its natural beauty.

“As an avid outdoor person myself, this collaboration spoke to me as a way that we can be stewards of the natural lands and help protect such a vital resource. We're very happy that this collaboration will raise awareness of the efforts of IRWA."

The IRWA provided participating breweries artwork from Hourihan and asked them to highlight a beer brewed in the spirit of the collaboration.

"Our Red Hot Moon Kentucky Common fits right in with our reputation for unusual brews and it's a style that's very challenging to find around here as it originated in Louisville, Kentucky.” Granite Coast Brewing Head Brewer and co-owner Jeff Marquis said. “Our pre-Prohibition recipe that was developed by our friend Tom Ellis. A Kentucky Common was a prolific style at the turn of the 20th Century, but the rise and ratification of Prohibition banished it to historically obscurity.

"It was revived nearly a century later by the curiosity of home and craft brewers. Our version is dark and full of warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg and finishes off to rich molasses and red rice flavors. It’s a unique flavor combination to craft palates of the 21st century."

Red Hot Moon Kentucky Common will be available at the brewery on Main Street starting Friday on draught and in four-packs. A portion of the can sales will be contributed to the IRWA.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)