Columbus is getting a new beer and it’s very own couch bike. Yes, a couch bike is a thing and it’s here to introduce Fort Collins-based New Belgium Brewery’s Slow Ride Session Ale. While the brewery isn’t from Columbus, local reinvention specialists at Opal Stackhouse were tasked with creating the love-seat-sized contraption that will travel around to city retailers announcing the new brew.
New Belgium had already created a three-seat couch bike to be part of the branding and packaging for the session ale, but distributor Superior Beverage Group decided Columbus needed its own bike.
“The great thing about working with Superior was the fact that they gave us complete creative freedom…with the only stipulation being that it should be classified as a “couch bike” and it needed to be love-seat size,” says Ashley Puckett of Opal Stackhouse. “So while the general concept was established by New Belgium, the look and feel of it, and making it function, was all our responsibility.”
Puckett researched the brewery to get a feel for their aesthetic, deciding it needed “fat tires” (an ode to the brewery’s flagship beer, Fat Tire), a vintage feel, “And, to fit the slow ride concept it needed to be comfy,” Puckett adds. Craig’s List delivered with a green vinyl two-seater (another strategic move so spilled beer could be wiped off). Much of the rest of the contraption truly fit the vintage theme with parts from a ’50s era Schwinn and a ’39 Ford.
“New Belgium Brewery is taking this session ale, slow ride concept and creating an experience,” Puckett says. “It’s smart for their brand and it sets them apart in the craft beer world. Seeing the thought and effort that is going into their messaging is impressive and inspiring, and we were happy to be part of it.”
Beer connoisseurs can catch the bike at local retailers and events before it heads back to Fort Collins to participate in the Tour de Fat.
For more information, visit opalstackhouse.com.
