Loco Coko: The Collaboration of Craft Beer and Music

The first collaboration of the year 2023! Introducing our latest creation in collaboration with Project Mishram, the Loko Coko Stout!

The inspiration for the beer comes from two songs by Project Mishram, a progressive Carnatic fusion band based in Bengaluru.Project Mishram's music blends a variety of genres, including modern progressive metal, funk, jazz, and EDM, all rooted in Indian classical music. The beer is named after two tracks from their latest album 'Meso': "Loco Coko" and "Sakura". "Loco Coko" is a fusion of hip-hop, metal, rap, and Carnatic music, and celebrates the indulgence of traditional filter coffee. "Sakura" draws on the western style to evoke the freshness of an early morning, inspired by the cherry blossom tree that blooms in spring.

Thejus Nair, a member of Project Mishram, and I teamed up to create something truly unique and eclectic. The band's metal fusion style served as inspiration for the beer's flavor profile and name. We crafted a custom blend of filter coffee to complement the cherry and stout flavors, and infused it into the brewing process. The stout will definitely take you on a journey to the south of India with the aromas of filter coffee!

We chose to go ahead with an American stout as the base for this collaboration due to its bold and full-flavored profile. By combining the rich, roasty notes of coffee with the subtle sweetness of cherries, we aimed to create a balanced and uniquely delicious stout. Our experimentation for this beer involved finding the right balance between the coffee and the roasted flavours in the beer from the malt. For the brewers out there, I would suggest that, when using filter coffee, it takes at least two days for the full coffee flavor to emerge. While it may take some time for the flavor to fully develop, the immediate taste gives us an idea of the final product, and the result is a stout with a more pronounced and satisfying flavor.

The concept behind the stout was to blend the flavors of filter coffee and roasted malts in a manner to bring in a sense of authenticity, giving it a feel of Bengaluru. I really love collaborations of this nature, as they result in unique and innovative brews. On the release day of the beer, we explored the idea of serving it with a scoop of cherry ice cream. This idea may seem unconventional, but our goal was to offer a unique experience and potentially attract non-beer drinkers to try something new and different and it did just that, people loved the concept!

The release of Loco Coko was a tremendous success. We were thrilled to see a great turnout and the response for the beer was beyond our expectations. The acoustic 3-man band performance added a fun touch to the beer-drinking experience. Three of the band members took to the stage with a mridangam(a south indian percussion), flute, and vocals, which made for an unforgettable performance.