North Texas Craft Beer Conspectus - October 26, 2020 edition

Image credits: Franconia Brewing Co., Symbol Brewing Co., Steam Theory Brewing Co., Smittox Brewing Co.

The Conspectus, otherwise known as the 'in case you missed it update,' has been missing in action for months, but I suppose that's just another thing we can pin on the pandemic. In any case, activities are picking back up at area breweries, so here are a few recent items that may be of interest.

-Cheers!

Franconia releasing first ever cans

There have been some changes at Franconia Brewing Co. of McKinney, where new ownership is in place and new packaged products are on the way. The brewery is canning beers for the first time in its history, with a pilsner called Run for the Pils and two varieties of Walker Texas Radler (pineapple and peach) now available. An official launch party for the three beers will be held at Franconia on Saturday, November 7.

Symbol shares plans for second round

Carrollton-based 3 Nations Brewing Co. recently announced the creation of a side project to be known as Symbol Brewing Co., the news coming with the release of the brand's first three beers. A second round of offerings is already in the works, with the following beers expected to arrive in December: Symbol Hazy Double IPA (8.5% ABV, 35 IBU), Pastry Gose with Passion Fruit, Orange and Guava (4.7% ABV, 5 IBU), Pecan Porter with Peanut Butter, Banana, Chocolate and Coffee (7.0% ABV, 32 IBU).

Steam Theory kicks off unique collaboration

Steam Theory Brewing Co. of Dallas has unveiled a barrel-aging project it began working on over the summer. The brewpub got together with 18 Texas distilleries to create a series of barrel-aged brews that will be presented in flights along with the base beer and a sample of the original spirit. One beer, a Balcones Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged IPA, has debuted thus far, with others to be shared in the coming months.

Smittox Brewing Co. launches crowdfunding campaign

Seeking to establish the first black-owned brewery in the area, Smittox Brewing Co. has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Readers may recall founder Kuumba Smith has collaborated on beers with Martin House Brewing Co. (Short Order Porter) and Vector Brewing (Black is Beautiful) in the past. Smith hopes to locate his brewery off U.S. Highway 75 (Central Expressway) in either Allen or Plano. Click here to view the campaign.

3 Nations launches Symbol Brewing side project

Image credit: 3 Nations Brewing Co.

A new North Texas brand is debuting this week, the concept behind it built around three little words: "Simply. Good. Beer."

From the team at 3 Nations Brewing Co. of Carrollton, Symbol Brewing Co. is an initiative designed to give head brewer Gavin Secchi the opportunity to experiment with recipes falling outside the bounds of the brewery's everyday lineup.

"Symbol Brewing is our innovative, rotating line of beers focused towards craft beer lovers," says John Royer, business manager at 3 Nations. "Our 3 Nations beer portfolio, like most local breweries, tends to be a consistent lineup of great tasting beers. Gavin is a strong brewer with a lot of recipes and we want to take advantage of this opportunity."

Regarding the "simply good beer" elements of the brand's identity, those words apply not only to what's found inside Symbol Brewing's cans, but also to how its products will be portrayed in the marketplace.

"The marketing is minimalistic and meant to be 'all about the beer,'" explains Royer. "We believe that symbols create conversation, so rather than naming beers we just wanted to create relevant symbols."

As for what consumers can expect in terms of availability, the Symbol Brewing line is intended to be a series of limited edition, one-off beers.

"We will rotate three new exciting brews created by Gavin every other month," says Royer. "This is a limited series as we just don’t have the capacity to brew larger amounts of Symbol Brewing beers.  It is just our way of having fun and keeping it fresh."

The initial run of Symbol Brewing beers is shipping now to select retailers across North Texas. Styles include Pastry Gose, Strawberry Hefeweizen and West Coast IPA. Look for them in four-packs of 16-ounce cans.