
AUSTIN, TX – Today, Birds Barbershop proudly begins serving St. Elmo Brewing Co.’s signature brew Carl at the barbershop’s nine Austin locations. The partnership kicks off with a fun “Free Cuts for Carl” promotion, offering anyone named Carl – with proper I.D. and 21+ years of age – a complimentary haircut, along with St. Elmo’s flagship beer of the same name, the entire month of January.
“We’ve always dreamed of a partner like St. Elmo that taps into that same homegrown, Austin vibe,” said Birds Barbershop co-founder Michael Portman. “Our companies were founded down the street from each other in South Austin, and we both value our local communities above all else.”
Founded in 2016 at 440 E. St. Elmo Rd., St. Elmo Brewing was established by a group of passionate beer lovers with a vision to create high-quality craft beers in Austin. The company recently added a second brewery and taproom location at 8110 Springdale Road. The brewery hosts events, live music, and food trucks, making it a hotspot for locals, just like Birds Barbershop.
“When I moved to Austin, I got my first haircut at Birds Barbershop and received a free beer with my haircut,” said Bryan Winslow, co-founder of St. Elmo Brewing Company. “It is beyond cool to now be the brew of choice at all Birds’ locations, and we already have plans for more fun collaborations to come.”
In addition to St. Elmo Carl, Birds Barbershop will feature St. Elmo Hazy IPA and, for those embracing Dry January, St. Elmo Hop Water. Each following month, the lineup will spotlight St. Elmo Carl alongside rotating seasonal favorites, including award-winning brews like St. Elmo Amber Lager and St. Elmo West IPA. These beverages will be available year-round at all Birds Barbershop locations for clients aged 21 and up. For more information or to book a haircut, color or style service, visit birdsbarbershop.com.
About Birds Barbershop
In 2006, childhood friends Michael Portman and Jayson Rapaport found themselves living in Austin, TX, with nowhere to get an affordable, high-quality haircut. Together, they created a salon for men and women, took out all the fuss, and added free beer to the experience. An addiction to old school arcade games developed. Birds Barbershop has been named six consecutive times to ELLE Magazine’s list of the 100 best salons in America and by the Austin Chronicle as Best Haircut every year since opening. Today, Birds Barbershop serves upwards of 20,000 people monthly and employs more than 150 people in nine locations across Austin.
About St. Elmo Brewing
Since opening in 2016, St. Elmo Brewing has become a staple in Austin’s vibrant craft beer scene. Known for crafting approachable beers that cater to all types of drinkers, St. Elmo offers a wide range of styles from hazy IPAs to traditional German lagers. These beers can be enjoyed onsite at the brewery’s two Austin locations or found on menus and retail shelves throughout the city. Recognized as one of Condé Nast Traveler’s Best Breweries in Austin, and with multiple gold medals from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and U.S. Beer Open, they recently expanded to a larger second location in East Austin. True to its roots, St. Elmo continues to be a hub for the community by regularly hosting programming and events like the popular Grassy Thursdays and weekly trivia nights. The brewery also fosters creative collaboration through partnerships with local artists and designers with their influence seen not only in the design of the brewery’s space but also in the artwork featured on the cans, including those for the flagship Carl Kölsch, St. Elmo Amber, St. Elmo Hazy, St. Elmo West, and Hop Water. For more info on hours & locations, events, and more, follow @stelmobrewing.
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CHICAGO, Illinois: The 2023 Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer (FOBAB) turned Chicago’s Credit Union 1 Arena into a hoppy haven on November 10-11, where over 150 breweries unleashed more than 200 barrel-aged masterpieces on thirsty enthusiasts. Picture this: the air thick with notes of bourbon, vanilla, and toasted oak as attendees swirled, sniffed, and sipped their way through rarities like Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Stout variants and Revolution Brewing’s Deep Wood Series bombs. It wasn’t just a tasting—it was a boozy treasure hunt, with lines snaking around for limited pours of coffee-infused porters and wine-barrel sours that could make even a teetotaler reconsider their life choices.
MILFORD, CT and SAN DIEGO, CA — Athletic Brewing Company, America’s largest dedicated non-alcoholic brewer, is reimagining the January reset with the launch of its latest campaign, “Athletic January.”
BOULDER, Colorado — The Brewers Association—the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers—is pleased to announce the two at-large board members appointed to the 2025 Brewers Association Board of Directors.
TORONTO, Canada – Partake Brewing, a leader in the craft non-alcoholic beer space, is thrilled to announce its role as the exclusive NA beer sponsor of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). This partnership marks a significant milestone for both organizations, uniting two trailblazers who are changing their respective fields.
BOULDER, CO — As 2024 winds down, the Brewers Association (BA) has summed up the year for America’s small and independent craft brewers: slower growth, tighter belts, and a lot of strategic pivoting.
Boulder, Colorado — The Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group representing small and independent American craft brewers, reflects on a tough 2023 marked by a competitive, mature market. A midyear survey revealed a production decline, the first outside of 2020, driven by slow growth across the beer industry. Factors like pricing, demographics, and marketing challenges contributed to beer’s ongoing loss of share within the beverage alcohol sector. Despite these hurdles, craft beer remains a powerhouse, with independent brewers accounting for one in eight beers sold in the U.S. and capturing one in four beer dollars, while supporting jobs and communities nationwide, according to Bart Watson, chief economist at the Brewers Association.
SUFFOLK, VA – Atlanta-based New Realm Brewing Company hosted a grand opening celebration for the award-winning brewery’s sixth location, and its second in Virginia. Located at 5941 Harbour View Blvd., the brewery, distillery and restaurant is now open seven days a week. New Realm’s leadership team was joined by Suffolk Mayor Michael Duman at a ribbon-cutting event to mark the official opening.


