Last year, DC’s Velocity Girl reunited for the Black Cat’s 30th anniversary. Greg Engert of Neighborhood Restaurant Group (NRG) was in attendance, as was Phil Runco-look for the Beer in Review soon–and myself. Earlier in 2024 the band got together with Crooked Run on a dunkel-style lager, which we found out about the day before a December, 2023 Black Cat show.

We’re not going to let another opportunity pass us by. Tonight at Churchkey and tomorrow at Black Cat, Velocity Girl and NRG’s Bluejacket will release UberCopacetic, another dunkel-style lager to celebrate the release of an expanded version of the Copacetic album, UltraCopacetic. We chatted with bassist/guitarist and Velocity Girl’s resident beer nerd, Kelly Patrick Young, about the collaboration. 

Bluejacket and velocity girl
L- R: Ro Guenzel, Kelly Patrick Young, Greg Engert, Tim Mooney. Pic via Phil Runco.

“I thought Bluejacket would be interested,” writes Young. “I’ve known Greg for years so I sent him a note and responded in the affirmative right away. In many ways it’s a perfect pairing. DC brewery for a DC band. Greg, Phil, and I got together at Bluejacket, over some of the very good cask brown ale (the name is escaping me at the moment) [Jake: it might be Dead End Street.] and talked about what we could do. I mentioned ‘remastering’ the dunkel. We did discuss a Scottish style best bitter/golden ale (a la Harviestoun’s Bitter & Twisted). I think the two beers I evangelize most for are dunkel and cask bitter. In any case since we were re-releasing a remastered album it seemed a remastered beer should go with it.”

That’s two years and two dunkels with area breweries for Young. “What’s with me and dunkel?  When done right the perfumed malt goodness, the ready bready toastiness of a dunkel is one of the most moreish and sessionable brews going. A true ‘1 or 6’  beer (interesting enough to have just one of and wax poetic over but drinkable enough to have a session with). I know styles come and go in the brewing world, but I can’t believe dunkel is not more popular. I think many folks hear the name and upon learning it means ‘dark’ assume it’s stout or porter-like, both fine and sessionable beers in their own right, but not at all like the round maltiness of dunkel.”

transfer shot of dunkel
Pic via Runco.

During their initial 1990s run, which included a Spike Jonez-directed video and a song on the Clueless soundtrack, Young would “make a point to find any brewpubs or micros wherever we played. I remember sneaking off to the Trinity Brewhouse in Providence, RI (Brown Ale!) when playing Met Cafe, running up the street to Goose Island at Wrigley (Sahti!) when playing Lounge Acts in Chicago, or requesting every venue trade our Heineken/Becks for Celis/Sam Adams/Anchor.”

As for what 2025 holds, look for a remastered and expanded release of Velocity Girl’s Rocket Ship EP, but as we’re all of a certain age–shoegaze is very big on tik tok and Instagram reels now–but I assume if you’ve read this far, you’re between the ages of 60 and 40, which means that, like Young, we’re “about turning this over to the next generation to entertain me. As long as they do it quietly and before 10pm.”

“While it’s been fun, it’s also been tremendously difficult as we are all family folks and quite frankly not young. All of the practicing and playing cuts into time I could be drinking beer,” he adds. We’ll drink to that! 

Tonight at Churchkey join members of the band, Engert, and some favorite indie ’90s bands on the playlist for the official launch of the beer. We hear some limited edition vinyl may also make an appearance. Tomorrow the band plays the Black Cat–a few tickets are still available, and the venue will have cans. Can’t make it? Bluejacket will have 4-packs, which might go into limited distribution as well.

Want even more dark lager in your life? See you on Sunday at Right Proper!