Latest Swiftwater release invites us to celebrate Greater ROC

Makin' Waves Pale Ale is a beer to get excited about. It officially launches Thursday.

I’ve known Andy Cook, owner/brewer at Swiftwater Brewing in Rochester’s South Wedge neighborhood, for well over a decade. Unlike me, I know Andy isn’t prone to hyperbole.

So when he told me he was over-the-moon excited for a forthcoming beer release, my ears perked up a bit.

Swiftwater is set to release Makin’ Waves, a 5.8-percent hazy pale ale brewed in collaboration with Greater ROC. Greater ROC is a consortium of local leaders, both in the elected and business worlds, banding together to amplify what makes this area awesome. (Head over to the group’s website to see who serves on its board, how its funded, and what it aims to do.)

Swiftwater, 378 Mt. Hope Ave., is releasing the beer at 5 p.m. Thursday with a kick-off party. Greater ROC promises free beer, swag bags to the first 75 attendees, and snacks. Following that, the beer will see limited distribution.

“This sounds a little more business-y than I normally sound, but we want to leverage both of our audiences to spread the word a little bit further,” Cook said.

Bob Charboneau, one of the area’s best homebrewers and a designer at Dixon Schwabl, played matchmaker for this partnership, Cook said. Charboneau made the introductions. (Dixon Schwabl is one of the Greater ROC’s member organizations.) Cook said it was an easy sell, especially since Swiftwater really doesn’t have a beer like this one in its current portfolio.

“We wanted something easy-drinking, but still flavorful and hoppy,” Cook said. “And we wanted to use it as a way to promote their mission, which is to help spread the word that Rochester is a pretty cool place.”

Makin’ Waves is every bit as soft as your favorite Nerf football and is hopped with Nectaron, Mosaic, and Citra hops to supply a symphony of all those tropical fruit flavors you’ve come to crave in your New England-style beers. (How’s that for marketing speak, kids?)

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Cook is clearly enamored. His face lights up when talking about the beer. He really hopes this one goes over well and can become part of the brewery’s regular rotation. I love it just as much as Andy does and I’m also hopeful.

Like many, Cook, a native of Aurora, Cayuga County, moved to Rochester and thought it was just a temporary stop on his path to somewhere else. “I thought I’d be here for two or three years tops,” Cook said after he wrapped up his undergraduate studies at SUNY Geneseo. “I thought I’d end up somewhere else, but this is such a cool town.”

Cook put down roots and opened Swiftwater more than nine years ago.

“We fell in love with it and just stuck around. It’s amazing how much has changed in the last 10 years.”