Pretty Things Quietly Launches New Beer, Magnifico

Pretty ThingsBOSTON – Boston Magazine’s newly awarded ‘Best Locally Made Beer,’ Pretty Things, tested a new marketing approach for their latest beer release.

“We wanted to try and do a quiet launch and see if anyone noticed,” said Co-Founder Dann Paquette. “We literally turned off our phones, went to places with Magnifico and just drank beer.”

The above-mentioned Magnifico, a draught-only summer release, is a low-ABV offering that checks in at 3.4 percent.

But Paquette was hoping for an even lower gravity when he brewed the special release in early July.

“On brew day we set our sights on 8 degrees Plato,” he said. “We hit 8.3 Plato and the beer fermented down more than we thought it would, which is how we ended up at 3.4 percent.”

As Paquette and the Pretty Things crew made their way to various bars, news leaked on Twitter that the new brew was being served.

“Some of the people that showed up would tweet about it and people began trickling in to each spot we made stops at,” he said.

The beer is currently on tap at just five bars in the Boston area – Deep Ellum, The Publick House, Trina’s Starlight Lounge, Brendan Behan and The Other Side Café.

Magnifico is being sold in 25 oz glasses for around $6 each.

“The economics of brewing low-gravity beers are different,” he said. “That $6 price-point is about as low as we could possibly go without taking a loss.”

And although 50 barrels were brewed, only half actually found its way into kegs. Paquette said the rest was blended off into other beers for future releases. Magnifico will be on draught in Massachusetts only while supplies last.