Lincoln Park Zoo & DryHop Brewers Partner on ‘Chimp Off The Old Block’

Chicago – Lincoln Park Zoo and DryHop Brewers are partnering on the release of a new beer to raise money for the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes. This is the third consecutive year that the zoo and DryHop are collaborating on a beer; in 2015, a Cantaloupe & Clementine Wit was brewed to support the Crowned Lemur Wish List Fund.

On Saturday, May 14, “Chimp Off The Old Block,” an 8.0% Hazelnut & Fig Maibock, will be exclusively released at Zoo-ologie: Urban Zoo-Fari, the Auxiliary Board of Lincoln Park Zoo’s annual signature fundraiser. DryHop Brewers Chef de Cuisine Jeff Dysart will also serve a Pork Belly dish with Bourbon Fruit Compote and Rice Pudding to pair with the Maibock that’s only available the night of Zoo-ologie. The beer will then be released at DryHop (3155 N. Broadway) on Wednesday, May 18 at 6 p.m. For each pint of “Chimp Off The Old Block” sold, DryHop will donate a dollar to the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes. More beer release details can be found here.

This year, Lincoln Park Zoo and DryHop Brewers’ collaboration beer is inspired by ingredients from the chimpanzee’s diet and will support the vital research and conservation work to understand and save our closest living relatives. The zoo’s chimpanzees include Hank, Optimus, Kathy, Chuckie, Nana, Cashew, Patrick, Zachary, Cookie, Magadi, and Kibali.

Description: C:\Users\jbraun\Desktop\20081008_201303_01.jpg“This collaboration brings much-needed attention to this imperiled species,” said Director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes Steve Ross. “Our work both at Lincoln Park Zoo and in the field with the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project helps us understand more about our closest living relatives and how we can help conserve them.”

For over a decade, Lincoln Park Zoo scientists have worked to study chimpanzees in their native habitat in Africa as well as those living in zoos and sanctuaries in the United States. Chimpanzees are highly intelligent and adaptable and those living at the Regenstein Center for African Apes have access to touchscreen computer systems, allowing scientists to study their cognition and emotions. This August, the Fisher Center will host the Chimpanzees in Context symposium, a gathering of the world’s preeminent chimpanzee experts, to discuss how best to understand and protect this complex species.

“We love our yearly partnership with Lincoln Park Zoo. This year, we brewed a Hazelnut & Fig Maibock to raise funds to support the care of the zoo’s 11 chimpanzees. Inspired by their diet, this classic German ‘May’ beer gets a facelift with hazelnut and fig. The beer finishes clean and crisp with mild fig, hazelnut, and caramel,” said DryHop Brewers Head Brewer Brant Dubovick.