Worcester Will Mark Día De Los Muertos With Help From Spiritual Beer

WORCESTER, MA — If you're sick of pumpkin beer, Worcester's Redemption Rock Brewing Co. has another seasonal brew on tap that will also help support an upcoming October festival celebrating the afterlife.

Redemption Rock last week released Espíritu, a pale ale flavored with prickly pear and coconut. A portion of proceeds from the sale of Espíritu and other Redemption Rock beers this month will go to Worcester's Casita Cultura Latina, which will host a Día De Los Muertos festival this month.

"Día De Los Muertos is a celebration of life as much as it is about remembrance, and we wanted both ideas to be represented in this beer," Casita Cultura Latina leaders Joy Murrieta and Raquel Castro said in a news release. "Everything about the beer — from the name, to the artwork, to the ingredients - reflects the whole nature of the Día De Los Muertos celebration."

Redemption Rock head brewer Greg Carlson said he helped build the beer using ingredients found across Latin America. The annual holiday is celebrated widely in Mexico and across South and Central America.

"The beer simply looks and tastes like a celebration, and we hope it properly honors the work of Casita and the spirit of the Día De Los Muertos festival," Carlson said.

The label on Espíritu cans was created by Casita Cultura resident artist Germán Chiriboga featuring a hummingbird, which will also be the centerpiece of the cultural organization's Day of the Dead celebration in 2023.

Casita Latina's third annual Día de los Muertos festival will begin Oct. 13 with a showing of the family movie "The Book of Life" on the Worcester Common behind City Hall. The celebration will culminate on Oct. 28 with a festival on the common. Find out more on the Casita Latina website, and more about Espíritu on the Redemption Rock website.