Media Contacts: Lukas Volk, Marketing Director, Hillcrest Brewing Company
lukas@mosuniverse.com 619-564-1952

Amy Liu, Field Marketing Manager, Amy.Liu[a]cbrands.com, 949-231-0496

Ballast Point and Hillcrest Brewing Company Collaborate on Annual PRIDE Brew for 2018

SAN DIEGO (May 23, 2018) – Local Craft Brewery Ballast Point and Hillcrest Brewing Company come together to collaborate on Hillcrest Brewing Company’s annual PRIDE Brew for 2018.

Hillcrest Brewing Company was honored to be approached by the nationally renowned Ballast Point Brewing in a collaboration to show support for the LGBTQ community.

In early 2018, Kelly Tidwell of Ballast Point Brewing, sat down with the head brewer Clinton Shaver for Hillcrest Brewing Company (HBC) and pitched the idea for a collaboration brew with HBC during Pride. Knowing that HBC has an annual PRIDE brew, Kelly recommended working on this brew together at Ballast Point’s brewing facility.

“Since joining Ballast Point four years ago, I’ve wanted to integrate my LGBT and craft beer communities. Last year we made coozies, coasters and stickers to hand out at Pride, but this year we wanted to do more. Shaver and I were having a beer last December and the idea of doing a collaboration beer for Pride came together. It still hasn’t sunk in that this idea has become a reality, and it means the world to me how supportive Ballast Point has been to me and the LGBT community as a whole,” stated Tidwell.

Kelly, who is a member of the LGBTQ community, initiated a campaign last year to show Ballast’s support for LGBTQs last year by incorporating a rainbow design into the Ballast Point’s logo on their tap handles. These were provided to accounts all across Hillcrest, San Diego’s prominent LGBTQ neighborhood and nationally to those who requested.

“When Kelly presented the idea to the HBC team, we were all super excited by the idea. Being that we are just a small barrel brewery, this collaboration allowed HBC to participate in a batch much larger than we could ever produce. The ability to get our name into similar LGBTQ markets in northern california including San Fran and LA is fantastic for such a small brewery that’s gay owned and operated,” explains Marketing Director Lukas Volk.

Volk goes on to say, “The LGBTQ community frequently travels between cities for Pride celebrations, festivals and vacations – name recognition for Ballast and Hillcrest Brewing is important to us when visitors come to San Diego.”

The PRIDE ‘18 Brew is set to release first in June for National Pride Month and will only be available in San Diego at Hillcrest Brewing Company and Ballast Point locations. The brew will later be available for LA Pride on June 10th in select West Hollywood bars and also available during Out at the Fair in Del Mar, Ca.

Described as a Cucumber Lager, PRIDE ‘18 is described as a classic, crisp traditional lager with German Pilsner malt and Bock yeast with a dash of cucumber offering ripe melon and slightly bitter notes, followed by pleasant spicy and floral characteristics from the German hops.

For purchase information, please contact Ballast Point at (858) 790-6900

For additional questions, please contact Lukas Volk at lukas[a]mosuniverse.com

For images to use with this story please visit http://bit.ly/ballasthbc
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