A Bushel of Apples: Phase Three Brewing collaborates with Affy Tapple for third year to create fall beer
LAKE ZURICH, Ill. - It’s that time of year craft beer fans have been waiting for.
This year’s popular collaboration between Phase Three Brewing and Affy Tapple will be hitting store shelves next week. And it’s the biggest batch they’ve ever made—by far.
"Here again," said Phase Three Brewing’s Evan Morris. "We have our annual Bushel of Apples beer coming out. Our collaboration with Affy Tapple."
It has become an annual fall tradition, and one of the most in-demand beer and food mashups in the country.
For the third year in a row, Phase Three Brewing in Lake Zurich is cranking out thousands of cans.
Called "A Bushel of Apples," it amazingly does taste like a caramel apple covered in peanuts—in a can.
"You crack it open, you’re hit with a big whiff of the peanut and caramel right out of the gate," said Morris. "And then you take a sip. It’s a ton of apples. A little zip and tartness for the recipe design as well."
Also new this year — a portion of every can sold will go to Gigi’s Playhouse in Deerfield — a non-profit agency that provides educational and developmental support for children and adults with Down Syndrome.
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"We were so excited to have a platform for our kids’ voices to be heard," said Shannon Powell of Gigi’s Playhouse. "They could be seen. They could be celebrated. This kind of money doesn’t come naturally to us here. We work hard for every single dollar that we have. So this is truly life-changing for our playhouse."
The first year Phase Three brewed only 60 barrels of the Affy Tapple beer, which sold out in a matter of hours. Last year they brewed 150 barrels, which also quickly disappeared.
So for in 2022, they produced 400 barrels. And the demand just keeps growing.
"Everyone in Chicago knows the Affy Tapple brand," said Affy Tapple VP Todd McClamroch. "They have a memory that ties them back to their childhood. And now they get something they can enjoy as an adult even more."
Four-packs of the beer should hit store shelves throughout Illinois next week.