The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center is preparing for a launch.
No, the space and aeronautics museum isn’t firing up that huge rocket out front – although wouldn’t that be something?
The launch we’re talking about is that of Miles & Miles, a new beer from Henniker Brewing Co.
On Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m., the Discovery Center will play host to an evening of music, food and, of course, beer. Miles & Miles is already on store shelves, but this event will be the official launch party.
Now why in the world would a brewery go to a space museum to debut a new brew?
Well, the beer is called Miles & Miles, a reference to Derry astronaut and moonwalker Capt. Alan Shepard. Shepard owns the distinction as the only human being (and probably only life form in general) to ever play some golf on the moon. He brought a modified golf club onto the moon with him and took some hacks to see how far he could drive one. On his second shot, he declared the ball went for “miles and miles and miles.”
The beer is named for Shepard – the can even features a man in a spacesuit holding a golf club, a cool portrayal of the man himself – so it only makes sense to roll it out at a big venue that also features his name.
But there’s another reason why Henniker Brewing got in touch with the Discovery Center in the first place.
There’s a state law that says if you have someone’s likeness on a bottle of alcohol, you have to have permission from the family.
“The brewing company needed to get a hold of Shepard’s daughters to get the okay, and I know them and they don’t,” said Jeanne Gerulskis, executive director of the Discovery Center. And so an idea was born.
Admission is $25 per person, and all proceeds go toward the Discovery Center. Get them at brownpapertickets.com/event/ 2585351 or right at the Discovery Center.
