Venice, California is a place unlike any other. One might think that all California beach towns are alike, but Venice of all places is unique in it’s artsy, cultural and creative vibe. For these reasons, we chose to open up our Propagator brewhouse four years ago.

The Propagator is our R&D pilot brewhouse that sets the pace for what’s next from Firestone Walker. It’s a wellspring of ideas, flavors and beers that are unique to—and inspired by–our Venice neighborhood.

With the fourth anniversary of the Propagator, we’re excited to release Gen-4, Firestone’s newest Double IPA.

We’re extra pumped for the release of Gen-4 because we partnered with graphic artist, Jake Kenobi, whose style embodies the playful, beachy and creative vibe of Venice, California.

Jake has been doing graphic design professionally for about six years but admits that art and drawing have always been a big part of his life.

His inspiration: skulls and palm trees.

“Basically, my goal for my personal work is to spread positivity without ignoring the heavier side of life. That’s why I love skulls and palm trees, to me, they’re the perfect representation of the difficult and the beautiful parts of life. I also care deeply about ending the stigmas around mental health, so using skeletons in my work is a great way for me to convey messages about what’s going on inside all of us that we often don’t discuss.” 

For the Gen-4 logo design, we simply asked Jake to put something together that would capture the essence of Venice for the fourth anniversary of the Propagatory brewhouse – he accepted the challenge and presented several amazing ideas and concepts for the beer.

“I started out by making a list of everything I could think of that could represent Venice Beach,” said Jake. “We knew we wanted to do some sort of scene on the can so I thought it could be cool to put a bunch of those elements floating in the ocean together. And since it is for the four-year anniversary of the Venice Beach location, I turned it into a beach party!”

Once the initial sketch was approved, Jake refined the design, added pops of color and even provided a few animated graphics for us to share with fans on social media.

Gen-4 is a double IPA at 8.3% ABV. Available in 16 oz. four-pack cans for $19.99. Limit four four-packs per order. It’s now exclusively available through direct shipping from our brewery. Limited release at our three California brew stores. Buy now. 

Check out these rad Firestone Walker x Spring Break Jake Propagator-inspired tees to go with your beer purchase.