Napa Residents Aren't Thrilled About the Idea of IPA-Themed 'Action Park'

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It's an unexpected surprise when the commenters on something like a Reddit thread agree with each other — and it's extra-surprising when everyone is on the same side when it comes to local development. On a recent post on the r/Napa subreddit, everyone seemed to believe that advertisements for a Voodoo Ranger IPA "Action Park" were nothing more than a stunt, and that a beer-centric adults-only amusement park wasn't actually going to be built in California wine country.

"I saw this and thought it was hilarious," one commenter wrote. "Most definitely an ad campaign as I'm sure people would loose [sic] their mind over the construction of this." Another added that there was a "0% chance this is happening."

But New Belgium Brewing Company, the Colorado-based beer-maker behind the Voodoo Ranger IPA Action Park, are still leaning hard into the idea — if only to push a few buttons in the NorCal community. "136 Acres of beer powered fun!" the Action Park website screams, along with a "beer-powered flume ride," a wave pool filled with 130,000 gallons of IPA, and a concert stage with a 25,000 watt sound system. "COMING SOON TO NAPA!" the site either promises or threatens.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, New Belgium hasn't filed any permits or done anything even remotely official with regards to the park. "We believe it's a publicity stunt," David Morrison, Napa County's planning commissioner, told the outlet in an email. "There has been no application filed with the County."

But the lack of anything more concrete than a few cartoons depicting the park's layout hasn't stopped Napa locals from vocally opposing the idea. Last weekend, protesters from a group called "Not in Napa" held "STOP THE BEER PARK" signs and chanted "Voo-don't" as they marched through downtown.

New Belgium did recently hold a focus group in Napa to discuss their plans. "THAT WAS SO WEIRD," one attendee wrote on Reddit. "I feel like they wanted content of people taking the zany 'proposal' seriously. Sadly, I didn't grab any of the beer because I felt awkward." Another focus group-er said that they were "waiting for the next phase" of what they believed to be nothing but a well-orchestrated ad campaign. "Definitely some kind of new marketing idea and I'm not mad at it," the Redditor wrote. "Listening to the ol' Napa crowd take it so seriously was entertaining though."

Some video of "the ol' Napa crowd" objecting to the idea was recently posted on Voodoo Park's Twitter account. "The buzzkills of Whine Country want to stop our IPA Action Park," the company wrote. "Help us make it happen. Like and share to save the park."

Food & Wine has reached out to New Belgium Brewing for comment, but as of this writing, we have not received a response.