The New Belgium Brewing Company is promising on its website a beer-themed amusement park – complete with illustrated concept designs – is supposedly “coming soon to Napa,” KTLA sister station KRON reports.
The Voodoo Ranger IPA Action Park’s webpage heralds the imminent coming of “136 acres of beer-powered fun,” which it states will include:
- Xtreme Brew Flume: the “world’s first beer-powered flume ride,”
- Surf’s Up, a pool in which one can “catch a wave on 130,000 gallons of tasty Hazy IPA,”
- Juice Force Goliath: “NorCal’s tallest coaster made from reclaimed beer barrels,”
- and last, but certainly not least, Ranger Thunder: a concert stage with a 25,000-watt sound system.
The webpage even includes a phone number (1-888-4BEERPARK) people can call to express what they think about the park. When one calls, a recorded message promises that the park will be “just minutes from downtown Napa” and allows people to leave a voicemail message.
The promise of a beer park has elicited concern in the Napa community, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported last week. But is it really going to be happening?
Napa County officials are trying to calm residents.
“My guess is it’s a publicity stunt,” Terri Abraham, a planner with the Napa County Planning, Building and Environmental Services Department, stated to KRON. “Nothing like that would be allowed in the unincorporated areas of Napa County.”
David Morrison, the director of Napa County Planning, Building and Environmental Services, told KRON that he agrees.
“I believe that this is likely a publicity stunt,” he stated. “But the issue remains to be clarified by Voodoo Ranger.”
Morrison stated that any such project would need to be approved by the voters (in 2024 at the earliest), and that a use permit and environmental impact report would be required.
“These processes would likely take several years,” Morrison stated.
“The county has not received any application or pre-application, nor has been contacted about developing an amusement park by Voodoo Ranger,” Morrison stated.
As for New Belgium? The Colorado-based brewer did not respond to a request for comment for this report. Until it clarifies, the truth will remain as hazy as its IPA.