New Jersey Brewery Honors Rush’s Neil Peart With ‘Pronounced Pier-T’ Beer
Rush drummer Neil Peart died this past January, but even the most casual Rush fan knows he won’t be forgotten. A New Jersey brewery is remembering Peart in a unique way: with beer. Carton Brewing has made Pronounced Pier-T, a brew with multiple Rush and Peart tie-ins.
Its name refers to the common mispronunciation of the iconic drummer’s name (“Per-T” instead of Pier-T). Its style is a Canadian lager for Rush’s roots, and its flavor profile is “lime-lighted” to nod to Rush’s song, “Limelight.” What “lime-lighting” translates to in beer terms, by the way, is a zesty burst of lime that brightens this brew’s soft, biscuit-y malt.
The can art is a rendering of a photo brewery co-owner Augie Carton took at a Rush meet-and-greet, with a separate drawing of Peart at his kit, wearing his signature skull cap. Even the price of Pronounced Pier-T, sold in four-packs of 12-ounce cans, is a Rush reference: $21.12.
It’s a higher cost than most Carton four-packs, which start around $10 (though their Belgian tripel with pounds of white truffle added goes for $26). The reason for the up-ticked price is that all proceeds go toward research for glioblastoma, the rare brain cancer that Peart died from. The donations from Pronounced Pier-T will be made in Peart’s name.
“Money for research, that’s what’s going to help,” Carton tells Loudwire when asked what he hopes Pronounced Pier-T will accomplish.
For him, this beer is a personal passion project, born out of a lifelong love of Rush. “Rush has always been important to me,” Carton says. “The first time I was ever cool, I was 10 years old telling the teenage son of my parent’s best friends that Rush was my favorite band. Rush matters to me beyond three dudes creating that much sound and impresario-level musicianship. Beyond anything else [...] Neil’s poetry affirms the best parts of who I try to be.”
The first run of Pronounced Pier-T has sold out, but the brewery plans to revisit the project. Carton advises keeping an eye on the brewery’s Facebook page, where news and beer availability is posted on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
In the meantime, he also mentions that Pronounced Pier-T can be found in the beer-trading networks on sites such as BeerAdvocate, but anyone who trades for this brew would be missing one of its biggest points: donating money to a very important cause.
See Where Neil Peart Ranks Among the Top 66 Hard Rock + Metal Drummers of All Time