Art Meets Beer

Conceptualized in partnership with Concrete Happenings, Arcade Brewery’s Concrete Traffic is a bold Roggenbier with delicate citrus undertones, a stark rye bite, and a faint touch of salt on the finish. It finds inspiration from the strange history of German-born artist Vostell’s Concrete Traffic. The colossal public sculpture was created in Chicago in 1970 when several tons of concrete were poured over a 1957 Cadillac, and the sculpture’s stark forms are echoed in the disruptive rye elements and distinct bite of Arcade’s German-style beer. The citrus zest brightens the flavor profile while the small amount of salt pays homage to the conservators and caretakers who have stabilized the sculpture’s once salt-damaged concrete and iron body and returned it to a public setting.

Concrete Traffic's label is an original design by Erik L. Peterson, an artist and the Manager of Family Programs and Student Engagement at the Smart Museum of Art. Read more about the partnership in recent Newcity and DNA Info articles.

The unique profile of the beer has helped shaped the creative direction of several Concrete Happenings events, and will make its final appearance with its creator, Chris Tourre, at Instructions for a Chicago Fluxus Opening on January 22.