The Niceville community continues to recover from Sushi Mike Ledford’s death. People are dealing with grief in different ways.
Friends, family, and people who didn’t know Mike came together online and for a food truck rally at 3rd Planet Brewing to raise more than $100,000 for the Ledford family.
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His friends at 3rd Planet took another step toward their healing while supporting his family. They released a new beer on Thursday, especially for Mike. Called ‘Mike’s Ohana,’ the beer tastes like 3rd Planet’s Luminous Cloud Hazy Pale Ale, with a twist. Brewer and co-owner of 3rd Planet, Bryan Detweiler, says the team added yuzu (a cousin of the lemon from Japan) and sushi rice to make the beer unique.
“We just thought it made sense,” Detweiler said about the flavor profile of the beer, “It’s kind of a tribute to him. To take a beer that was one of his favorites and put a little twist on it and make it more customized and tailored to something that we think he would have liked to drink.”
The label, designed by Chris Hoffman, was derived from Mike’s mural, which was showcased at Ohana Day in February.
Detweiler says he would only change a single thing about the beer – who brewed it. “I wish we could have brewed it with him. I think this beer speaks to what we as a brewery can do,” Detweiler said, “you think in the back of your mind about things that would have been cool beer projects, and you think about it for a while. ‘Maybe we should have a beer with Mike.’ And then it makes you feel bad [when] he passes away and makes you appreciate opportunities that you miss out on.”
The beer is available in four packs at the brewery. They are limiting the release to two four-packs per customer while they last.
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