Pinthouse Brewing drops new beer, but there’s a bigger story behind the cans

New beer alert, for those of you into that sort of thing.

I stumbled across news of a couple new brews getting released by Pinthouse Brewing while working on a related, but separate story. Two stories somewhat related to craft beer? Yes, I know, work can be difficult sometimes.

Before we discuss the Pinthouse releases, let me explain the other piece.

I recently visited with Marshall Thompson, a fellow outdoorsman and craft beer enthusiast who co-owns a very interesting niche business in Austin. He and his brother, Ryan Thompson, founded Canworks, which is a business dedicated to printing designs directly onto aluminum cans. It’s a fascinating process, and I strongly encourage you to read more about it in the link.

More: Ever seen how beer cans get printed? Watch how two Austin brothers do it on a massive scale

We at the Statesman also compiled some cool video of the cans being printed and packaged, as well as several stunning photos that show the sheer volume (pun intended) of cans working their way through the Canworks facility in Austin.

One of their clients is local favorite Pinthouse Brewing. Marshall Thompson introduced me to Jacob Passey, Pinthouse’s director of brewery operations, and we had a great conversation about how much a business like Canworks helps small brewers like Pinthouse. Unsurprisingly, brewers of their size (and smaller) have a hard time getting the same customer service or customization ability from large-scale can production companies that they do from Canworks.

And if you’ve ever gazed upon the can of a Pinthouse beer, you know they put significant work into making sure their packaging is top-of-the-line.

Now, back to those new beer releases.

The photo at the top of this story shows the cans those two beers will be in. Both are printed by Canworks using the designs made by Pinthouse. They are able to do a much smaller batch size than many printers would require, and because the designs are printed directly on the can, it’s more recyclable too! That’s worth raising a cold glass.

If you buy either of these in bottles, take a moment before you crush them to admire the artwork and remember Canworks hand in the process.

Here’s a little more information from Passey on the new beverages, including some info on who their collaborators are for these drinks — Still Austin Whiskey Co. and St. Elmo Brewing Co.

Megabloom Sour Ale (7.5%) — Feb. 16

With familiar fruit-driven flavors reminiscent of pink lemonade and shandy, this thirst-quenching and joyfully drinkable beverage was brewed with Meyer lemons, hibiscus, agave nectar & gin botanicals. We’re getting tons of spritzy citrus, lemonade like tartness and mouthwatering strawberry notes with a complex cocktail-esque flavor component, complements of the addition of Texas gin botanicals gathered from our friends (at Still Austin Whiskey Co.).

Most Excellent (5.9%) — Feb. 23

A new riff on a modern classic, Hoppy Lager with our friends at St. Elmo Brewing Co. German Pilsner meets new school West Coast IPA in this crisp, quaffable, dry-hopped lager. Brewed with Sterling, Idaho 7 and Citra Fresh Frozen Hops. Then dry-hopped with hand-selected Citra, Amarillo and a small punch of Southern Hemisphere varietals. This combination of old world and new hops and techniques brings forth notes of freshly peeled ruby red grapefruit, bright clementine, tangerine and a zesty lime profile. 

As always, thanks for reading. My name is David Dishman and I’m the business, growth and development editor at the Austin American-Statesman. Be sure to sign up for more content like this from myself and others at the Statesman, and enjoy the beer!