Wicked Weed releases official Moogfest brew

The first band won't play Asheville's Moogfest electronic music celebration until Wednesday night. But Wicked Weed Brewing has already tapped into the festival fun.

On Tuesday night, Wicked Weed released the festival's official beer, a Chocolate IPA that will be available only at the brewery and select festival music venues, said brewer Luke Dickinson. Just 15 barrels were made of the 8.4 percent alcohol beer, which was brewed with French Broad Chocolate Factory nibs and aged on wood used for Moog synthesizers.

"It's kind of out there," Dickinson said. "You wouldn't think of (an IPA with chocolate) but we found a way to do it."

Moog Music, producers of Moogfest, approached the brewery about doing an official beer this year. In the past, Moogfest ales were were produced by Asheville Brewing.

After touring the Moog Music factory, Dickinson and his brother Walt were inspired to "make something new," Luke Dickinson said. "We started with the idea of a double IPA and then started thinking about getting chocolate in it. We've had a lot of experience with the French Broad Chocolate Factory and we got together with them to taste nibs. We decided on a blend of Peruvian and Nicaraguan chocolate." They used 50 pounds of chocolate in the brew.

Then they asked Moog for the wooden frame of a synthesizer, chopped it up and aged the beer on it for a few weeks. The untreated frame did not include any chemicals, he said.

The chocolate flavor is a subtle taste, Luke Dickinson said. "I wouldn't call it a chocolate beer but as you move through the pint, it comes out," he said.

Moogfest, which includes such acts as the Pet Shop Boys, Kraftwerk, M.I.A. and Keith Emerson, runs Wednesday-Sunday around Asheville. The festival honors the legacy of electronic music pioneer Bob Moog, whose keyboard synthesizer changed pop music and performance and opened the door years later for new wave rock and today's electronic dance music.