North Austin Brewery Creates Pink Beer for Breast Cancer Research

One North Austin brewery has something special brewing for breast cancer awareness this month.

Adelbert’s Brewery, located on 2314 Rutland Drive, created a pink Hibiscus Saison for what it’s long called its “whimsical” series, and has been donating some of the proceeds to the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Texas.

The brewery had Hibiscus Saison on tap during a fundraiser for the charity earlier this month, which the brewery’s manager Sarah Haney called a big success.

Haney also came up with the idea for the beer, which was inspired by another beer using hibiscus flowers.

“It started with a beer I’ve had out in California from another brewery that used hibiscus flowers,” Haney told Patch. “For about a year I was begging [the owner] ‘lets make a hibiscus IPA.”

When they finally got down to making the beer, they decided to not make an IPA, but a saison. But as they were testing different batches, something that stood out to Haney was the beer’s intense pink color.

“We focused on what we were brewing and while we were brewing pilot batches we noticed a really great pink color,” Haney said. “My mom’s a breast cancer survivor, so I was like, “Can we do something for breast cancer?”

The beer doesn’t rely on cheap tricks like artificial coloring to get its color, either. Instead, the brewers use about 100 pounds of hibiscus flower used in each batch.

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So far, the beer has been a hit, Haney said. It was released in early July, but only in kegs. Not long after, there was a huge demand FOR? Hibiscus Saison bottles.

“People love that it’s helping a really great local charity. Reviews are positive, distributors are begging for it to be a year-round release, we’re pretty proud of it,” Haney said.

While Adelbert’s does not plan on making Hibiscus Saison a year-round offering, the brewery does intend on making the pink brew again next summer. It also plan on holding another fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Texas, an organization that provides services for patients and survivors of the disease.