In This Edition: Austin Eastciders Brand Refresh, New Beer Festivals, New Breweries, Industry Hiccups, and More.
Published 9/24/2024
Austin Eastciders Debuts First Brand Refresh
Austin Eastciders has a new look, bringing the flavors of Austin across Texas and the country. Cans and cartons of their ciders now feature vibrant illustrations with colorful characters and unique patterns representative of everything Austin is and loves: food, culture, people, music and the outdoors. The new on-package imagery is designed to spread Texas pride, with a new look that’s friendly, welcoming, charming, vibrant and funny–just like Austin. Texas Brut Super Dry Cider, for example, now boasts a red, white and blue can spangled with the Lone Star, which invites cider drinkers into a dynamic scene from a classic Texas rodeo. The illustrative design brings Texas cider to life through bold, colorful, energetic imagery. The dynamic update marks the first brand refresh in the company’s 11-year history. New cans and cartons are rolling out now.
Bear King and Suds Monkey Host New Beer Festivals
It’s Autumn beer festival season! I hope you had fun at Lager Jam and Lager Fest (I did!), and are excited about these upcoming events:
Bear King Brewing is hosting the Steins and Vines Festival in Marble Falls on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at the Lakeside Pavilion. Experience a day of craft beer and wine tastings from up to 15 local and regional breweries and wineries. VIP ticket holders will enjoy early entry at 10:00 AM, along with an exclusive event mug or wine glass. General Admission entry begins at 12:00 PM, with the event concluding at 4:00 PM. Secure your tickets today and be part of a new Marble Falls tradition!
Then a few weeks later, join Suds Monkey for a howling good day of local craft beer, live music, and community spirit at the 1st Annual Howler Fest – Hear No Evil, Drink No Evil! This unique fundraising event benefits PAWs Shelter, bringing together pet lovers, craft beer enthusiasts, and music fans to take a moment to “Paws” and enjoy some fun while making a difference. The event will feature at least ten breweries (though the list is growing), and event tickets come with a souvenir tasting cup and 8 sampling tickets. The event is on Saturday, October 26, and tickets can be purchased here.
Following these events, we will have the return of the fantastic East West Beer Fest on November 2nd at Turnstile, benefiting We Are Blood. And then finally, the season will conclude with perfectly mild weather at the Texas Craft Brewers Festival on November 16th.
Driftwood Estate Winery Introduces Beer Program
This one flew under our radar, but we’ve recently learned that Driftwood Estate Winery, located on Elder Hill Road between Ghost Note and Vista, began brewing beer on April 5th. It gets better – former Beerburg brewer Andrew Moran is heading the new program. You may recall that Beerburg was known for unique beers made with foraged ingredients, so it’s possible that Driftwood Estate may produce some cool and unusual beer styles. That remains to be seen though – in the meantime, feel free to check them out next time you’re in the area and let us know what you think!
Legacy Business Month Kick-Off Party
Here at Craft Beer Austin, we love local passports that encourage you to visit places beyond your usual repertoire. You’re surely aware of the ATX Ale Trail, but you may not have heard that earlier this month, charity organization Project Schoolhouse released the Agua for All passport benefitting water projects in rural Nicaragua. This passport is $25 and allows you a free drink or other item at 10 locations – the bad news is that it ends on September 30th (apologies for not sharing this with you all sooner!)
There’s another one launching on October 3rd, the Legacy Business Month celebration hosted by Preservation Austin. This one isn’t a free drink passport though, instead you’re invited to visit 10 local businesses that have been open for over 20 years, collect a stamp at each one, and then attend the wrap party at the end of the month to enter to win prizes. So why are we writing about this on Craft Beer Austin? That’s because you can pick up your passport at the Kick-Off Party at Zilker Brewing on October 3rd, where there will be a new fruited sour named “Great Company”, for which a portion of the profits will benefit Preservation Austin. Then, the Wrap Party will be at Scholz Garten on November 4th, which is itself on the list of legacy businesses participating this year. We also recommend bringing a local sixer to your Zilker Park Boat Rental.
American Canning Factory Shutters Abruptly
American Canning’s aTULC factory, located at 8001 Industry Way, announced on Friday that they are unable to continue production of their cans (as reported by BevNET). Additionally, they will be shutting down their e-commerce business as stated on their website. Their machining branch will remain open. Several Austin breweries and cideries were using these products to distribute, so this may impact short term availability – though competitors of American Canning are already reaching out to assist with supply. For more information, bring a bouquet of flowers to your favorite brewer as they are forced to deal with this circumstance.
Old Gregg Brewing Co. Opening Soon
Following the modest opening of the new St. Elmo Brewing Co. location (how far away did you have to park?), we’re now turning our attention to the next large brewery opening of the season. Old Gregg Brewing Co. is now hiring staff for the new brewery on Howard Lane, around the corner from Big Country Organic Brewing, and just 12 minutes from ABW Sprinkle Valley. We’re expecting a mid to late October opening. Following this, we’re looking forward to the opening of Cottonwood Creek Brewery in Hutto later this year, which will likely round out our new brewery openings for 2024.
