Imagination Lands on 9/25 Because of a Dolly Parton Song

Hoppin' Frog built a banana pudding blonde ale around a date rather than a season. September 25 reads as 9/25, which is 9 to 5 turned around, and four-pack proceeds go to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

Style: Blonde Ale
Release Date: 2026-09-25
ABV: 5.2%
Hoppin' Frog Brewing Company (Akron, OH)

Most seasonal releases are timed to weather. This one is timed to a pun.

Hoppin' Frog Brewing Company releases Imagination Banana Pudding Blonde Ale on Friday, September 25, the first observance of what is being called Give Like Dolly Day. The brewery points out the logic: September 25 is 9/25, a reversal of the title of Dolly Parton's "9 to 5." The date is intended to become an annual fixture.

The beer is a 5.2 percent Blonde Ale, available on draft and in four-packs of 16-ounce cans. Hoppin' Frog describes it as bringing together creamy banana, soft vanilla, and what the brewery calls the nostalgic flavor of fresh banana pudding, landing sweet with a bit of Southern comfort to it.

That flavor target is a reasonable fit for the base style. A blonde ale is a light, clean canvas, and banana is one of the few fruit characters that beer yeast can produce on its own as an ester rather than requiring an addition. Paired with vanilla and a soft malt sweetness standing in for the wafer layer, the dessert is being assembled out of parts that a modest-strength ale can carry without tipping into heavier territory.

The charitable component is not incidental. Proceeds from each four-pack sold go to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which provides free age-appropriate books to children from birth through age five. The beer's name follows from the charity rather than from the flavor.

Imagination Banana Pudding Blonde Ale arrives Friday, September 25 at the brewery's Akron tasting room, on draft and in 16-ounce four-packs.

Editor’s Take

The date is the whole trick here, and it is a good one. September 25 is 9/25, which read aloud is 9 to 5 with the numbers swapped around, and from that single piece of arithmetic Hoppin' Frog has built an entire beer. Most release calendars are governed by weather and tank space. This one is governed by a pun that only works in one direction on one day of the year.

Banana pudding is also a shrewd pick for a blonde ale specifically. Vanilla, banana ester, a soft grainy sweetness standing in for the wafers - that is a flavour target a modest blonde can actually reach without being dragged into pastry-stout territory. At 5.2 percent it stays a beer you could have two of, which is the correct call for something meant to be shared. Serve it cold and do not overthink the glassware.

Source & Editorial

JollyPint independently prepares release articles using information published by breweries through newsletters, websites, and other official public communications. Brewery-supplied descriptions and tasting notes are reported as provided, while editorial context is added by JollyPint.