East Dallas brewmaster Wim Bens, founder of Lakewood Brewing Company and a 2000 Southern Methodist University graduate, announced this week a new 4.5% American golden lager for Mustang fans called Pony Pils.
It’s designed for a fun tailgate and game-day experience, and Bens even designed the cans, according to a press release, which also includes details about the company’s rebranding and a new scholarship fund.
New Mustang-themed beer debuts in time for football season kickoff
“I’ve been wanting to do a Pony beer for years, and I think that craft beer fans are ready to embrace the crispy bois — beer lingo for light and crisp craft lagers,” Bens says of his latest lager. “As a Mustang, I can’t wait to be on the boulevard on game day with a Pony Pils in hand.”
Pony Pils also has an altruistic angle. The ale, which hits select restaurants this month and shelves in August, will benefit Lakewood Brewing’s LBC Future Brewer STEM Scholarship, whose goal is to “inspire the passions of the next generation of craft brewers.”
The scholarship is brand new and will be launched alongside football season, according to the announcement.
Fans of Lakewood Brewing will soon notice new packaging across the portfolio of products. The brand has long been known for its eye-catching cans, often featuring work by professional artists, such as the Mechanical Series designed by Cory Say.
The updates will give year-round and seasonal mainstays a current, clean and consistent appearance on shelves, according to the Lakewood team.
This month, Lakewood premieres some other new products including a hop snacks variety 12-pack of IPAs, which includes Lakewood IPA, Big D Double IPA, Goddess Hazy IPA and Blood Orange IPA.
“We want fans across Texas to be able to sample our IPA lineup even if they can’t make it to the taproom,” Bens says.
That taproom is located in Garland, Texas, where the state’s No. 1 selling craft stout, Temptress, is made. Twenty-four craft beers are on tap at the suburban beer garden and kitchen that attracts beer lovers from around the world, according to the Lakewood Brewing team.
Lakewood Brewing Company “exploded onto the scene in 2012,” as put in the press release.
In 2011, the Advocate interviewed a baby-faced Wim Bens who at the time said brewing was his unprofitable pastime.
Wim Bens
“Most brewers [have grown] tired of all the bad expensive beer they drank in college,” he told us 12 years ago, “so they bought a beer kit and made their own — and these beginner beer kits make horrible, horrible beer. But some stick with it and turn it into a sustained hobby.”
