There are breweries that release beers, and then there’s Great Notion, which every April leans all the way into the strange little holiday orbiting 4/20 — not with subtle nods, but with a full, fruit-soaked, hop-saturated celebration of altered perspective, excess, and playful rebellion. Their annual 420 drop has become something of a Portland ritual: a rotating cast of hazy triples, smoothie sours, and “dank”-leaning IPAs that blur the line between beer and sensation, each one built to feel a little surreal, a little indulgent, a little like the rules quietly packed up and left town for the weekend.
And then there’s Bicycle Day — April 19, the unofficial overture to 420 — which co-owner Paul Reiter has long championed as the spiritual spark behind the whole thing. It’s not just a beer to him, it’s a mindset: curiosity turned up, senses slightly rewired, flavor allowed to wander off the map and come back with stories. That ethos runs through the entire lineup you’re holding now — from jammy, spoon-thick fruit concoctions to resin-laced hop bombs — a flight that doesn’t just pour beer, but invites you to loosen your grip on expectation, lean into the weird, and maybe, just maybe, enjoy the ride a little more than you planned.
Peaks & Pints Great Notion 420 Flight
Great Notion Bicycle Day
7.5% ABV | Fruited Sour Ale | Portland, Oregon
It shows up like a trick of the light and a wink you’re not entirely sure you imagined, pouring one color while promising another, a kaleidoscope of mixed berries, soft stone fruit, and citrus swirling into a tart, juicy drift that feels less like drinking and more like slipping sideways through the afternoon, the acidity bright but playful, the finish lingering in that curious space between sweet memory and sharp realization — brewed as an annual nod to April 19’s famously altered perspective, the unofficial prelude to 420’s full bloom.
Great Notion Reeferm Madness
6.3% ABV | Fruited Smoothie Sour Ale
Like a spoonful of midnight jam left too close to a dream, this one spills over with strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry in a thick, velvety swirl, a flicker of mangosteen drifting through like something slightly exotic and half-remembered, while a soft marshmallow hush rounds the edges into something lush and faintly decadent, the fruit chorus lingering long, sweet, and just a little mischievous — a playful, over-the-top wink to 420 culture where excess isn’t a flaw, it’s the whole point.
Great Notion Knife Hits
6.8% ABV | West Coast IPA
Sharp as a needle drop in a dim-lit room, this one slices clean through the haze with flashes of sweet berry, pineapple, and a streak of dank resin, the bitterness snapping awake just long enough to remind you where you are before drifting back into something smoother, stranger, more modern, the finish crisp, echoing, and just a little electric — a West Coast riff tuned to that unmistakable “dank” frequency that lands squarely in the spirit of 420.
Great Notion Slurricane
10% ABV | Triple Hazy IPA with Fruit
It arrives like a neon-tinted daydream with a bassline you can feel in your ribs, all passionfruit pulp, tangerine glow, and a flicker of pomegranate tartness swirling through a thick, hazy body, hops and fruit blurring into one lush, sun-drenched chorus, the warmth rising slow and easy, the finish soft, sticky, and just a little mischievous — a cocktail-inspired haze bomb built for the kind of elevated, anything-goes mood 420 practically demands.
Great Notion Triple Dank Shark
10% ABV | Hazy Triple IPA
It surges in like a slow-motion wave lit from within, all saturated citrus, overripe tropical fruit, and a deep, resinous pulse curling through a creamy haze, the kind of lush, heady swell that feels equal parts indulgence and momentum, the warmth rising beneath it all while the finish lingers long and velvety — a full-throttle “dank” expression, unapologetically loud and perfectly at home in the hazy, resin-soaked mythology of 420.
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
LINK: Listen to Paul Rieter on the Grit & Grain Podcast
