Los Angeles-based Open Brewing has begun rolling its lager out in Southern California thanks in part to a business partnership with New Belgium Brewing.
In addition to a minority investment, New Belgium contract brews Open’s beer, consults the brewery’s team and offers other “shared resources,” a New Belgium spokesperson told Brewbound.
“Collaborating with New Belgium Brewing is a game-changer for us. It allows us to blend their brewing and operational excellence with our vision to bring something completely new to the beer and lifestyle community,” Open Beer managing director Keir Dillon said in a press release.
Dillon, a former professional snowboarder and ESPN analyst turned entrepreneur, has led Open since 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. The brand was founded by “multi-disciplinary creatives and skateboarding legends” Don “Nuge” Nguyen, Tino Razo and Ako and Atiba Jefferson.
Open’s flagship is a “highly drinkable, light-bodied, crisp pilsner-style lager,” according to the brand’s website. An image of Open’s current batch of cans reads 4.4% ABV.
Six-packs of 12 oz. cans of Open are available at grocery and convenience stores in Southern California. The beer officially launched on December 1, according to the brand’s Instagram account.
Each batch of Open features art by “a rotating cast of artists” that will refresh biannually, Open wrote on Instagram. The first three artists are Meryl Smith, Joe Roberts and Katsu Sawada, who have designed three different cans, all sold in the same 6-packs.
Open lists Ramon Tamayo as its brewmaster. Tamayo, who the Brewers Association named as one of its inaugural Mentors of the Year in 2022, was tapped to lead on-site brewing at New Belgium’s San Francisco taproom when it opened in 2021.
Pilsners were the 14th largest craft style at multioutlet retail and convenience stores (MULO+C) in 2023, according to market research firm Circana. Dollar sales were roughly flat, declining -0.1%, to $52.4 million. Share was also flat, increasing +0.01 share points, to 1.11 share points in the craft segment, which is dominated by IPAs at 46.88 share points.