The Tale of Ipswich Ale Brewery and the Green Crab

The Tale of Ipswich Ale Brewery and the Green Crab
By Jamie Green Klopotoski

Sometimes you never know where life will lead you! As event manager at Ipswich Ale Brewery, I’ve been organizing our first annual Cask & Clam Week, May 8-13, to celebrate Ipswich’s clamming and brewing culture. The week of events, including an environmental panel discussion, a paint night, and a clambake, will culminate in a Cask & Clam Fest on Saturday, May 13 in downtown Ipswich.

Part of my research in organizing the Ipswich Ale Cask & Clam Week led me to the discovery of the green crab, an invasive species with no natural predators that, last year alone, reduced Ipswich’s clam population by 30%. A new local nonprofit, the Green Crab R&D Project, is working to eradicate these crabs by turning them into a marketable food item. In Italy, green crabs are a delicacy; everything from soft shelled crabs, to caviar, to stews made with green crab broth are all the rage. For our Cask & Clam Fest, I’ve asked twelve local restaurants to offer a sample dish using the green crab, so you can taste for yourself how delicious they are.

The Cask & Clam Fest will also feature live music on two stages, food trucks, Tapmobiles, a cask ale pavilion, and activities for all ages.  All proceeds will be donated to the Green Crab R&D Project and the Ipswich River Watershed Association to support the local clamming industry. We hope this community-oriented event will bring awareness to the problem of the green crab, as well as be the catalyst for implementing the solution. Hope to see you there!

For more information check out the attached links:

Ipswich Ale Brewery: www.ipswichalebrewery.com

Cask & Clam Week: http://www.ipswichalebrewery.com/caskandclam.html

Cask & Clam Fest: https://caskandclamfest.eventbrite.com

Green Crab R&D Project: http://rogerwarner.wixsite.com/greencrabs

Ipswich River Watershed Association: http://www.ipswichriver.org/

Tapmobiles: http://www.ipswichalebrewery.com/Tapmobile.html