The Year of the Snake doesn’t begin until Jan. 29, but Guinness Open Gate’s Lunar New Year-themed beer will debut Friday.

With Midnight Harmony, a 4.8% alcohol-by-volume black rice lager with calamansi puree, Guinness hopes to invite “ “drinkers to shed the old, embrace new beginnings, and toast to growth and renewal,” it said in a statement.

The brew was created with Guinness’ parent company Diageo’s Pan Asian Network, and proceeds from the beer will benefit a “Lunar New Year-focused charity,” according to the statement.

Guinness Open Gate is no stranger to a themed beer. For the 148th Preakness, the brewery created Preakness Ale, a 5% alcohol red ale brewed with blood orange and hibiscus in 2023. In 2021, Guinness collaborated with several Black Marylanders to brew beers reminiscent of sweet potato pie and sorrel to benefit a local nonprofit.

Last year’s Lunar New Year beer was Luck of the Dragon, which was brewed with dragon fruit powder and orange puree. Before that, the Year of the Rabbit saw Yuzu to the Moon, a yuzu and jasmine rice lager.

This year, the brewery will be making special releases for a host of occasions, including Black History Month, Earth Day and Pride as part of its Community Beer Project. For each beer, Guinness makes a donation “to benefit a local organization serving the community that is being celebrated,” according to two spokeswomen.

Previous beers celebrating Lunar New Year benefited the Asian Pasifika Arts Collective, but Guinness has yet to announce its new partner for this year’s donation.

Midnight Harmony will be available on draft or in cans at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery starting Friday.

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