Hop & Sting adds Sir William's to NTX Strong series

Image credit: Hop & Sting Brewing Co.

Hop & Sting Brewing Co. of Grapevine is expanding its charity beer offerings with the addition of a recipe inherited from the Grapevine Craft Brewery brand.

Sir William's English Brown Ale is now one of four full-time beers making up what Hop & Sting calls its NTX Strong lineup of charity beers. A core brand at Grapevine Craft Brewery (acquired by Hop & Sting in June 2018), Sir William's was awarded a gold medal at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival, as well as a silver medal at the 2016 event.

“Before starting Hop & Sting, my co-founder Jon Powell and I were part of the team that brewed the gold medal winning batch of Sir William's," says Brian Burton, co-founder of Hop & Sting. "Sir William's is a wonderful beer and we wanted to keep it in our lineup. It is still the same great recipe that we all loved, and it is a natural fit for our NTX Strong lineup."

Regarding the choice of charity for Sir William's, Powell says adding a beer to benefit local law enforcement officers was a no-brainer.

“Our first responders and their families serve our communities," explains Powell. "It is a small token of our immense appreciation to dedicate another beer to give back to those heroes."

As of today, the NTX Strong series at Hop & Sting looks like this:

• Fire Engine Red/3113 Oktoberfest Lager - benefits Local 3113 Firefighters Benevolent Fund.
• Miracle Wheat - benefits Miracle League of Southlake.
• Dixon's Series - benefits Dallas Pets Alive.
• Sir William's - benefits Texas Peace Officers Benevolent Fund.

The NTX Strong program also includes a rotating tap that gives to a new local charity every month, and events like the brewery's Charity Bingo Night are used to help pitch in as well. Groups besides those mentioned above who benefit from Hop & Sting's efforts include Grapevine AMBUCS, Pro Players Foundation, Lupus Foundation of America, Pink Boots Society NTX Chapter, Second Chance SPCA, Gallant Few and more.

Fifty cents of every pint, $1 of every six-pack sold in the taproom and 5% of offsite beer sales go to those sponsored. In its first year after acquiring the facility in Grapevine, Hop & Sting gave over 1% of their overall revenue to charity. And, it's notable that the company considers its charity commitment as overhead, since rather than only giving a percentage of profits, Hop & Sting writes donation checks before the owners pay their own salaries.

“I’m truly happy we are able to give back through our NTX Strong program," adds Lane Joseph, co-owner and CTO at Hop & Sting. "Drinking beer and helping people, it doesn’t get any better than that!"

Look for NTX Strong beers on draft at select retailers and in the taproom at Hop & Sting. Miracle Wheat is currently the only NTX Strong beer available in cans, but Sir William's (March), Fire Engine Red (Summer) and 3113 Oktoberfest (August) are expected to be packaged in the months ahead.