Ocelot & Lilly Seabird Collaborate On Where The Wildflowers Scar

From Ocelot Brewing:

This Wednesday, Virginia’s Ocelot Brewing releases Where the Wildflowers Scar, a 6.5% Vermont-style IPA crafted in collaboration with Lily Seabird. This citrusy, light-orange-hued beer precedes the singer-songwriter’s evocative and emotionally resonant third LP, Trash Mountain, which arrives April 4 via Lame-O Records.  zzubreebym

Trash Mountain is of a place. It was written last spring on the outskirts of Burlington, where Seabird resided, atop an old landfill, in a pink group house – a structure affectionately dubbed, yes, Trash Mountain. During the summer that followed, she and bandmates recorded the album’s nine tracks 110 miles south at Science is Magic Studios in Arlington, Vermont. The songs themselves are populated with characters from her community: kids playing outside, eccentric neighbors doing eccentric things, friends past and present. On “Sweepstake,” Seabird takes the listener on a nostalgic journey through her adoptive home state. A drive up I-89. A dip in Shadow Lake. A night in the Northeast Kingdom. “We took the long way cause who cares how far,” she sings. “Through the mountains where the wildflowers scar.”

In addition to supplying the name of our collaboration, these lyrics inspire the imagery for its label, flush with green mountains and white pines. The liquid, meanwhile, draws inspiration from the classic Vermont IPAs beloved since their introduction in the 2000s. Like those beers – progenitors of the relatively maximal New England IPAs – Where the Wildflowers Scar has only a slight haze and balances malt sweetness with a prickly bitterness. Its grist is all barley, pared down and direct, not unlike the arrangements on Trash Mountain in the wake of 2024’s fulsome Alas,.

Where the Wildflowers Scar showcases a trio of hops. The first two, Citra and Amarillo, were central players in the emergence of juicy, sunshiny Vermont IPAs and thus were natural choices for our homage to the style. Here, Amarillo was a late addition to the boil, joined by Citra Cryo during the whirlpool, before a second dosing of both Amarillo and Citra after fermentation. These punchy Pacific Northwest varietals strike a singularly citrusy chord of cara cara orange, lemon, and orange blossom. And for the final cultivar, we also introduced Champlain Valley Hops Crystal as a dry hop. Grown in Starksboro, Vermont, this Crystal is beguilingly peachy with hints of chamomile and grapefruit rind. All of this fruitiness is enhanced by our house ale yeast, a strain that originates from… Vermont.

Of course, the definition of a Vermont-style IPA is somewhat nebulous. It’s more an idea than a delineated style. A fitting accompaniment to a record that grapples with how memories of yesterday float in and out of our today.

Trash Mountain is out April 4 on Lame-O Records. Lily Seabird’s album release tour stops at Songbyrd Music Houseon Friday, May 16.

Where the Wildflowers Scar will be available at Ocelot on Wednesday, March 12, with limited distribution in Virginia and DC to come.

The IPA follows Ocelot collaborations with Protomartyr, The Fiery Furnaces, The Clientele, Mary Timony, Sheer Mag, Superchunk, of Montreal, Bad Moves, Palehound, Fucked Up, Slumberland Records, and Merge Records. Founded by Adrien and Laura Widman almost a decade ago, the Dulles brewery celebrates its 10th anniversary on Saturday, April 12.