ORONO, ME – Orono Brewing has once again partnered with New York Times bestselling author Daniel Kraus to brew Pay the Piper IPA in celebration of the release of Kraus’s and legendary filmmaker George A. Romero’s co-authored novel, Pay the Piper, publishing September 3 by Union Square & Co.
In 2019, while sifting through University of Pittsburgh Library System’s George A. Romero Archival Collection, novelist Daniel Kraus turned up a surprise: a half-finished novel called Pay the Piper, a project few had ever heard of. In the years since, Kraus has worked with Romero’s estate to bring this unfinished masterwork to light.
Following the success of Kraus’s collaboration on Whalefall IPA with Orono Brewing in the fall of 2023 to tie in with the release of the bestselling novel Whalefall, partnering once more with the Maine brewery was a must.
“Daniel Kraus has an amazing ability to craft extremely well-written tales, and we felt like collaborating once more with the bestselling author is something we couldn’t pass up,” said Orono Brewing’s Creative Director, Justin Soderberg. “Collaborating on a beer celebrating a novel co-written by the legendary filmmaker George A. Romero just solidified our decision to partner on this delicious beer.”
Daniel visited Orono Brewing for the release of Whalefall IPA in October 2023 and agreed to partner again over a few pints of the delightful IPA. When the time came to discuss the Pay the Piper collaboration, his decision was an easy one. Whether drinking a New England IPA while reading a great novel, or placing the novel’s evocative artwork on a beer label, it’s easy to see how beer and books go well together.
“”Teaming up with Orono Brewing on the Whalefall IPA was a dream—a delicious beer from one of my favorite breweries and one of my favorite states! I didn’t hesitate when the chance came up to do it again,” said Kraus. “Orono is one of the coolest companies out there, and no doubt Pay the Piper IPA will be just the beverage for those long, sweaty nights in the bayou when it seems like something is creeping up on you. . . .”
With the great response to Whalefall IPA, which used a hop blend featuring Yakima Chief Cryo hops and Phantasm, it was an easy choice to once again use a Phantasm blend with a tweak for Pay the Piper IPA.
The Pay the Piper India Pale Ale will release on August 28, 2024, the week prior to the novel’s release, at Orono Brewing’s two Maine locations in Orono and Bangor. The limited-release beer will also hit shelves across the state of Maine that week. Pay the Piper will be available wherever books are sold on September 3. Visit unionsquareandco.com for more information.
You can learn more about the Pay the Piper novel as well as the beer collaboration on Episode 183 of the Capes and Tights podcast dropping August 28, 2024.
Book cover design: Patrick Sullivan and Igor Satanovsky. Cover images: Evangeline Gallagher; MaxyM/Shutterstock.com (texture). Beer label layout: Justin Soderberg.
About Pay the Piper
Alligator Point, Louisiana, population 141: Young Renée Pontiac has heard stories of “the Piper”—a murderous swamp entity haunting the bayou—her entire life. But now the legend feels horrifically real: children are being taken and gruesomely slain. To resist, Pontiac and the town’s desperate denizens will need to acknowledge the sins of their ancestors—the infamous slave traders, the Pirates Lafitte. If they don’t…it’s time to pay the piper.
About Orono Brewing
Orono Brewing is located in the basin of Orono, Maine – home of the University of Maine. Opening on New Year’s Eve 2014, Orono Brewing is known for their New England India Pale Ales, barrel-aged sours and a variety of other beers. Their flagship and multiple award winning beer, Tubular IPA, has been a staple in the Maine craft beer industry for over six years.
Orono Brewing beer is distributed throughout the Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
