If you’ve been playing along with the packaging release game, you’ll remember that I told you that it was only a matter of time before we would be seeing Westwood’s West Side Brewing getting their packaging off the line and into your hands.  Just in time for your summer barbecues, pool parties and backyard gatherings they’ve announced that June 2nd is the day we’ve all been waiting for.

What’s In The Cans?

To kick things off, West Side is releasing two of their most popular beers, their Common Ale and their Hefeweizen – I’ll have full beer notes on both of them soon, but for now here’s what you need to know about these two:

Common Ale

This beer comes in at 4.7% ABV and 21 IBUs.  The cans are a bright purple color  and feature this in the way of a description from the folks at West Side:

Clean, crisp, and refreshing.  A slightly sweet, lightly malty aroma fades into a dry, snappy finish.  The perfect beer for those looking for lighter, more subtle flavors.

Hefeweizen

This one makes me really happy, as it’s one of my favorite styles in the summer.  4.9% and 19 IBUs, these cans feature bright golden orange banding on the top and bottom, and the description reads:

A traditional German-style Hefeweizen loaded with aromas of clove, spices, and just the right amount of banana character.  Our special German yeast is left unfiltered, so expect a softly golden, cloudy appearance.

Both of the cans (and those going forward too feature a brief description of West Side Brewing, for anyone who happens to snag these off a shelf and doesn’t know who they are, yet.  This description reads:

Located in Westwood on the West Side of Cincinnati, we aim to brew traditional beer styles Exceptionally well.  We’re proud to call the Cincinnati region and the West Side home, and we’re excited to add to Cincinnnati’s rich brewing heritage.  We hope you enjoy drinking our beers as much as we enjoy brewing them.  Cheers!

The Release

I already mentioned that you need to find your way down to West Side on June 2nd to get your hands on these cans.  They’re releasing them in the taproom starting at 9am, and they’ll have Holtman’s Donuts and some coffee from Muse Cafe to make sure you survive getting up early on the weekend.

In addition to the cans, they’ll also have some of their sweet soft sided 6 pack coolers on sale for 5 bucks a piece, so if you find your self taking a chilled 6er somewhere this weekend, you can do so in style.

If you aren’t able to make the release, dont’ worry too much.  You’ll start seeing the cans popping up around town at all of your favorite bottle shops soon!!

What’s Next?

Don’t think that this is a one and done release for West Side.  This is a move into packaging, which means that you’ll see more of their beers down the line in cans as well.  If you remember back to my last post about it, we’ve also seen label approval for their Session IPA, so I anticipate that one is in the works.  There has also been a very loud calling for West Side to get their delicious Double IPA into packaging at some point.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see them get that one into your hands as well!

Time will tell… but until then, shout them out on social media… tell them what you want to see next!