As fans of Dungeons & Dragons and other such fantasy franchises know, creativity is at the core of role-playing games (RPG). Without a clever dungeon master (DM) to devise a riveting plot that’s challenging yet still fun, D&D campaigns would be a bore. So, it’s not surprising to see ingenuity from the owners of Vista’s RPG-themed BattleMage Brewing. As veteran campaigners Ryan Sather and Chris Barry prepare to celebrate their three-year anniversary, they have enacted a number of creative initiatives and are inviting their followers to come along on their quest.
From now through August 31, BattleMage is conducting an online presale of its Level 3 anniversary package, which includes a commemorative t-shirt, art print and “Bag of Holding” (a D&D reference) tote bag packed with an undisclosed giveaway item, plus a four-pack of a new hazy IPA (the name for which is currently being decided via a fan poll on BattleMage’s Instagram and Facebook pages) and an eight-ounce can of Goblin King 20, a blend of the company’s milk stout and an imperial stout aged in single-malt rye whiskey barrels from next-door neighbor, Henebery Spirits. There will also be an invitation to a virtual toast to three years, plus a printed “piece of BattleMage lore.”
“In previous years, the anniversary has been our favorite event. Seeing as how we weren’t going to be able to do live music or medieval combat and have an event that had hundreds of people at it, we decided to go the digital route,” says Sather. “We thought this was a cool ranged option where patrons can still collect the limited-edition shirt, we could have some fun limited beer releases and we could put our spin on it with the art and lore.”
For those unfamiliar with BattleMage’s lore, it’s a collaborative project between the company’s owners, longtime patron and in-house DM Jeremy Hinkley, and artist DW Miller, who Sather and Barry met at Comic-Con several years ago. Together, they have developed a layered hero character, the wizard that serves as Battlemage’s logo, and a history of adventures communicated through words and artwork.
“High fantasy lets the imagination thrive, and we wanted to build a world that our patrons could escape to with us,” says Sather. “We have finally added the literary component of that, and Jeremy has begun to flush out a world that will be epic in scale. We will be releasing the lore via our website, and for customers at the tasting room there will be a leather-bound tome where the adventures have been scribed by hand. So far we have released the origin story, but the second adventure is on its way and will initially be released via the anniversary package.”
Another fantasy that’s come to life for BattleMage fans of late is more packaging of the company’s beers. The aforementioned hazy IPA is the second beer to make it into 16-ounce aluminum receptacles and it won’t be the last. There are already plans to get some of the brewery’s “more crushable” beers in cans, including a Czech-style pilsner, hoppy amber ale and English-style brown ale.
Another packaged option is BattleMage’s Halfling Series of beers, eight-ounce cans of high-alcohol ales. Imperial-strength beers can be difficult to consume when offered in 750-millilitre and 22-ounce containers, making these smaller bottles of beers coming in as high as 15.1% alcohol-by-volume, ideal not only for the serving size but the price. BattleMage is selling individual cans for $5 apiece.
Beer is certainly the primary draw to the company’s tasting room, but its staying power over the past three years is as much a result of fans of fantasy and RPG’s having found a cool, inviting place to congregate and indulge in two of their passions simultaneously. Sather and Barry built the type of realm they would like to spend time in, and people like them have responded with passion and patronage.
“The BattleMage is our brand and customers that have enjoyed this journey with us so far have gotten to see the same character throughout his adventures,” says Sather. “It allows us to build a narrative that surely must be one of the most unique in craft beer. We aren’t just selling great beer, we are selling an experience.”
BattleMage Brewing is located at 2870 Scott Street, #102 in Vista