Brewery releasing IPA in cans

Brewery releasing IPA in cans

Photo by Ehren Wynder

A local brewery is set to release its first brew in cans.

Grand Rapids-based City Built Brewing Company has begun canning the brew, with the canner coming from Michigan Mobile Canning and The Mitten Brewing Co. providing some additional equipment.

The company’s first canned product will be its Melisandre Red IPA.

The beer will be sold in four-packs of pint cans and be available tomorrow at City Built’s taproom, at 820 Monroe Ave. NW.

The brewery’s Melisandre Red IPA will remain available in the taproom until the end of the month or until it runs out.

City Built co-founder Ed Collazo said the canning was an easy entry into the company pushing its first packaged product and eventually pushing its name outside of Grand Rapids.

“Our plan is to actually sell it out of the taproom,” Collazo said. “We’re about to sign a contract with M4 Distributing out of the Detroit area … so what’s left will go to Detroit.”

The brewery is now canning 150 to 160 cases of its Melisandre Red IPA, with plans to set aside enough inventory to send to the Detroit Fall Beer Festival on Oct. 26-27, Collazo said.

Collazo added City Built is planning one new can release a month in the coming months.

Brewers are test-batching a cranberry lactose kettle sour to be released in November and a juicy IPA is on the schedule for December.

“We haven’t decided on January, but we’re figuring it out,” Collazo said.