Read also Schnebly: First Miami Brewery
Now that Schnebly Miami Brewing Company has officially made the big leap and become Miami's first local craft brewery and the first to distribute its beer to local bars, it is taking the promotion a step further by seeking a model to represent the beer.
Schnebly is searching for a local lady to fill the role of Big Rod Key West Ale Girl. The ideal candidate will fit the retro pin-up-style model.
Anyone who is interested should post a photograph to the Schnebly Miami Brewing Company's Facebook page. The search will close by September 15.
Here are the rules: You must be female (duh!), a Miami-Dade local, 25 or older, and preferably blond, although hair color is not really an issue as long as you look good in a blond wig.
The chosen woman will be used for the brand's advertising, and ideally can stick around and represent the brand at this year's Grovetoberfest.
The model's role is to convey empowerment, says Schnebly's director of marketing, Joe Reyes. "The Big Rod Ale model is a woman who can catch a fish, skin it, grill it, then serve it," he says. "Even though they may not look strong, we want a woman who feels strong."
The model will be a throwback to Miami-style pin-up models from the 1950s, deriving inspiration from the HBO series The Magic City, a show reminiscent of Miami more than half a century ago.
The Big Rod Girl will also serve as an inspiration to designers for Schnebly's official tap handle, which will show a girl with a bent fishing rod reeling in a fish. Right now it is just a generic handle.
Schnebly has already commissioned artist Carlos Martinez of Reach Design Company to render the first sketch of the Big Rod Ale Girl. It will depict a voluptuous woman wearing a loose flannel shirt and cut-off denim shorts while grasping a bent fishing rod.
The whole point is to keep it local and with a do-it-yourself mentality -- local models, local artists, and local beer. After all, workers at Schnebly built the brewery's equipment from scratch.
And what about the beer itself? It's a blonde ale, 4.7 percent ABV, with hints of vanilla and caramel and a slightly sweet coconut front end. Coconut in a beer sounds rather off-putting, but the flavor is original and the overall beer taste is still there. It will not disappoint the palate.
Despite Schnebly's reputation for making wines with tropical fruit,
its beer is not fruity, nor will it ever be, because beer is not meant
to be fruity. For a fermented alcoholic beverage made with lots of
fruit, look no further than a Berliner weisse or cider.
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