(I won’t get into the corporate ownership of Goose Island too much here, but they’re owned by AB InBev, same as Elysian. I didn’t give Elysian a pass so I won’t give Goose Island a pass, either. Moving on…)

The origin story of the Run The Jewels beer alone justifies its existence. Apparently, through “a series of conference calls and emails,” Killer Mike and El-P talked the guys at Goose Island into making a dry-hopped Belgian wheat with the purpose of making it smell like weed, and to help “alleviate cotton-mouth.” The rappers came to the Chicago brewery and helped make the beer in advance of the 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival, where it was exclusively available. I didn’t make it to Pitchfork Fest that year, so I haven’t had the beer, but good on Run The Jewels and Goose Island for having some fun with the whole brewer-musician collaboration thing. It’s also just really fun to imagine Killer Mike and El-P sniffing hops and high-fiving over how much they smell like weed. It’s worth remembering that at the end of the day, beer has to be fun.