If you haven’t heard yet…

Idle Hands is adding a new year-round beer to their rotation (just in time for MDW). Meet: Slate. A beer brewed to be enjoyed every.damn.day. It’s a light, refreshing and super drinkable ale. It’s so good that you can enjoy it wherever life takes you. Seriously. Hiking? Yuppppp. Perfect for lookout hydrating. Camping (our team prefers glamping)? Check. Just add s’mores. Or, maybe something more low key: beach day? Stock your cooler with ice cold Slate. We weren’t kidding about just how drinkable this ale is. Consider it your summer go-to, sidekick, whatever you wanna call it.

Quick DL about Slate: Slate is a flavorful, easy drinking, 5.3% ABV everyday ale. Contains pleasant notes of tropical fruit, melon and citrus, with a crisppppp finish. A locally brewed, easy drinking beer that won’t wear on the palate.

We already know and love Idle Hands for their German style lagers, Belgian inspired ales and popular IPAs, but we’re crushing on them even harder thanks to this uber crushable ale. As if MDW wasn’t the best weekend of the year already… now we have a new beer to enjoy. All.summer.long. And beyond.

New Beer = Launch Party!

To celebrate the release of Slate, Idle Hands is throwing downnnn. 🙌 They’re hosting their biggest launch party, ever! Here’s what you need to know:

WHERE: Tudor Wharf | 34-44 Charles River Ave, Boston, MA 02129

WHEN: Thursday, May 23 from 5:30-9:30p

WHAT: This event is FREE and open to the public. Brato Brewhouse + Kitchen will be there cooking all the classic cookout foods. 🍔 And cold Slate will be flowinggggg! Oh, and a raw bar.

Bring your friends, bring your family, bring whoever and come hang with the Idle Hands crew and sip on their newest summer ale!

Catching up with Tkach

We enjoyed a Slate or two with Christopher Tkach, Idle Hands’ founder and head brewer, and asked him a few burning questions about the beer (and then some).

Craft Collective: Where did you get the inspo for Slate? 

Chris: After reading a few reviews online of people nit-picking beers, I decided it was time to create a product that was more far reaching and encapsulated the ethos of what craft beer is: flavorful and different. I wanted to create a product [beer] that could be enjoyed with friends and family without them having to think too hard about it.

CC: What makes Slate different than other IHCA offerings? 

Chris: I wouldn’t say Slate is different but instead, a logical extension of what Idle Hands is about, going back to the inspiration – [Slate] is about having a product that people can sit down and enjoy. [It’s] an evolution. 

CC: Where’s your ideal place to enjoy Slate? 

Chris: At the top of a mountain after a long hike. Preferably Mount Major in New Hampshire which has incredible views of Lake Winnipesaukee. Definitely a great place to have a Slate. 

CC: Patio season is almost here (pending the New England weather cooperates…). Where’s your fave patio to enjoy a cold one in the city or otherwise?

Chris: Deep Ellum (in Allston) or Atwood’s Tavern (in Cambridge). 

CC: Where can you be found when not brewing beer?

Chris: Hanging with my 5-year-old and working on my house.

Want more Slate?

Answer: yes. Join the CC crew as we hit the road for Slate tastings, starting this Friday. We’ll be pouring Slate + other IHCA goodness. Join us at one (or all – we don’t judge) of the below tasting events:

Friday, 5/24:

– PROOF, 10 Main St, Somerville, MA 02145 | 6-8p

Saturday, 5/25:

– Craft Beer Cellar Belmont, 51 Leonard St, Belmont, MA 02478 | 1-3p

Sunday, 5/26:

– Redstone Liquors, 115 Main St, Stoneham, MA 02180 | 1-3p

Thursday, 5/30:

– Falmouth Wine & Spirits, 322 Palmer Ave, Falmouth, MA 02540 | 4-6p

– Atlas Liquors Medford, 156 Mystic Ave, Medford, MA 02155 | 5-7p

– Bernier’s Liquors, 905 Plymouth St, Bridgewater, MA 02324 | 5-7p

Friday, 5/31:

– Boston Wine Exchange, 181 Devonshire St, Boston, MA 02110 | 4-6p

– Craft Beer Cellar Norfolk, 17 Pine St, Norfolk, MA 02056 | 4:30-6:30p

– Fort Point Market, 369 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210 | 4:30-6:30p

– Crafted, 400 Washington St, Holliston, MA 01746 | 5-7p

– Kappy’s Fine Wine & Spirts Peabody, 175 Andover St, Peabody, MA 01960 | 5-7p

– Pemberton Farms Marketplace, 2225 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140 | 5-7p

– Sudbury Craft Beer, 365 Boston Post Rd, Sudbury, MA 01776 | 5-7p

Saturday, 6/1:

– Julio’s Liquors, 140 Turnpike Rd, Westborough, MA 01581| 12-2p

– Kappy’s Fine Wine & Spirits Route 1, 325 Bennett Hwy, Malden, MA 02148 | 2-4p

Thursday, 6/6:

– Curtis Liquors Weymouth, 486 Columbian St, Weymouth, MA 02190 | 5-7p

– Reveler Beverage Co., 250 Chestnut St, Needham, MA 02492 | 5-7p

Friday, 6/7:

– Liquor Junction Reading, 1 General Way, Reading, MA 01867 | 4-6p

– Liquor Junction Somerville, 14 McGrath Hwy, Somerville, MA 02143| 5-7p

Saturday, 6/8:

– Craft Beer Cellar Westford, 142 Littleton Rd, Westford, MA 01886 | 1-3p

– Lincoln Liquors Chelmsford, 10 Summer St, Chelmsford, MA 01824 | 4-6p

– Depot Liquors, 23 Enon St, Beverly, MA 01915 | 4-7p

Friday, 6/14:

– Plaza Package, 155 State Rd, Great Barrington, MA 01230 | 5-7p