Photo courtesy of Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company is launching a new beer brand under the Captain Pabst name. The first release in the series will be Seabird IPA.
Pabst Brewing Company is transforming it's Milwaukee taproom and plans to re-open the space as Captain Pabst's Pilot House in time for what will be Captain Frederick Pabst’s 184th birthday (March 28, 2020).
To coincide with the renovations, the brewery is also releasing a new flagship IPA called Seabird. Seabird is a sessionable India Pale Ale brewed with Magnum, Citra, Cascade and Mosaic hops.
Seabird IPA is available now exclusively across Wisconsin and in the greater Chicago area.
The name of the beer is an homage to Captain Pabst’s last steamship, The Seabird, which was a catalyst in his decision to enter the beer business.
Caught near the shore in December of 1863 during an unexpected storm, Captain Pabst strategically beached The Seabird on the sands of Whitefish Bay on Lake Michigan without casualties. With irreversible damage to The Seabird, Captain Pabst decided to walk away from the sea. Hanging up his captain hat, he purchased a brewery that would eventually bare his name and deliver some of the most iconic American beer brands of all time.
“We’re lucky enough to be the stewards of so many great, classic American trademarks. But none of those marks really highlight the person or the people that founded the original brands,” said Matt Bruhn, Pabst General Manager. “We thought creating something new, based on someone who played such an integral part in pioneering brewing in this country, was a really romantic and deserving story that consumers would be interested in hearing.”
The Pilot House will focus on imaginative craft beer offerings while paying homage to Captain Pabst’s historic recipes. In addition to Seabird, the Captain Pabst Signature Series will feature new and exciting, quality brews the Captain would have crafted generations ago.
Beyond beer, the venue experience includes the addition of a craft spirits program, where spirits are blended and barrel aged in-house, an expanded merchandise offering, and a loyalty program called the “Blue Jacket Club.” The venue will continue to host live music.
A ceremonial keg tapping of Seabird IPA took place on Tuesday, Jan. 14 to celebrate the launch of the beer and the coming renovations.
Photo credit: Cole Vandermause
Historic photos of First German Methodist Church, which would eventually be purchased by the Pabst Brewing Company and repurposed as a tavern and restaurant.
Seabird is just the first in what Pabst says will be a line of craft-oriented brews that will be available on tap at the Pilot House and some that will be distributed across the state. Beers in the Captain Pabst series that will be on tap at the Pilot House will be brewed in the brewery's on-site 10-barrel brewing system. The canned product will be contract brewed through Wisconsin Brewing Company in Verona, Wis.
The building that will house the new Captain Pabst Pilot House (1037 W. Juneau Ave.) was originally a church built in 1872. Following the growth of the Pabst Brewing Company, the congregation of the First German Methodist Church elected to sell the property to the brewery and build a new church nearby at 21st and Highland.
The Captain Pabst Pilot House will host a grand opening and reveal party on March 28, 2020.
