Crooked Tooth Brewing Co. and Friends of Saguaro National Park (FOSNP) partner for a second run of their limited-edition Mesquite Amber with changes to the original recipe.
The second edition of Mesquite Amber features small recipe adjustments by Ben Vernon — the Crooked Tooth co-owner — to deepen the Sonoran flavors of the first edition while still keeping the same lager flavors. The second edition will also feature a new can design by Emma Rogers, the brewery’s lead brewer and principal can artist.
“We could have brewed something new this year, but Mesquite Amber earned its place at the table,” said Ben Vernon with his wife, Julie, the other co-owner in a press release. “I made a few small adjustments and left the character alone, because when Tucson beer lovers say that they can taste the Sonoran Desert, you refine it.”
The collaboration will also feature a “First Cheers!” celebration on Sept. 4, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Crooked Tooth Brewing Co. This year, guests will be the first to try the second edition of Mesquite Amber.
Fred Stula, the executive director for Friends of Saguaro National Park, will be there to talk about the work FOSNP does and about the greater partnership.
Last year’s edition helped FOSNP recruit more volunteers for the park, raise funds and amplify their social media presence.
“We don’t have tons and tons of followers, but we went from like 5,000 to like 8,000,” Stula said. “For us, that’s a huge growth in being able to connect with new people in the community.”
The most important benefit from the partnership has been spreading awareness in the community of their projects.
“Our mission is about awareness, education, and connecting people to the park,” Stula said. “With Crooked Tooth, it was a different part of our community that is always a bit challenging to engage with. It’s younger people who want to get out and be active in the park. They want to hike in the park; they want to volunteer; they want to be actively engaged in more than just a financial sense.”
For FOSNP, they receive no direct financial benefit from the collaboration, but Stula said the collaboration has surprised him in a few meaningful ways. One of those ways is the connections people have made between the flavors in the beer and the park.
“Being able to taste the Sonora Desert,” Stula said. “It wasn’t initially part of the mindset in doing this, but that’s something Ben and Julie have talked about a lot. This is something where people can taste Saguaro National Park, and there is an authentic, meaningful connection that’s not just caring about the park. It makes it more personal for each person.”
“I anticipated a lot of the other benefits, but that connection between people, place, and taste was a unique thing I hadn’t anticipated,” Stula said. “That’s exactly what we’re trying to do with both of our missions, is to connect people to their local community”
Stula said that a big part of why they are bringing back the collaboration this year is the passion of Ben and Julie at Crooked Tooth and the missions their organizations share.
“In going there and meeting with them, that’s their life. They live that same mission; it’s the same thing that our board and our supporters live every day. It became this very easy, authentic engagement,” Stula said. “Ben and Julie are honest and authentic people who are doing this because they care about our community and they care about our national park.”
Stula said that partnerships like this one, with local businesses in the community, are something they want to do more of.
“It’s about partnering with a local business that is connected with our community that is helping people get connected to our national park using local ingredients,” Stula said. “Where there’s an opportunity for collaboration, when missions align between organizations, that should be the driving force in doing things like this. In working with Ben and Julie, that’s exactly what this has been.”
