AUSTIN, Texas – April 2026 — Ceremony Botanical Brewing, Austin’s first botanical brewing company and the creator of a brand-new category called Botanical Brewing, will make its public debut on Saturday, April 4, 2026. The launch features a free tasting event and an ongoing residency at Hi Sign Brewing, located at 730 Shady Lane in East Austin.
The debut introduces two innovative beers that redefine craft beer: the Matcha Botanical Pilsner and the Hibiscus Botanical Ale. Unlike traditional flavored beers that simply add ingredients to a finished recipe, Ceremony’s Botanical Brewing approach builds each beer from the ground up around a single botanical. Every recipe draws on the ingredient’s cultural history, natural sensory character, and the type of drinking occasion it inspires.
“Beer is one of the oldest fermented beverages in the world, but today’s drinkers — especially younger consumers — want new flavors, new ingredients, and more intentional drinks,” said Jens Stoelken, founder of Ceremony Botanical Brewing. “We’re taking botanicals people already love, like matcha and hibiscus, and integrating them into a clean beer base to create something fresh and relevant for a new generation.”
Stoelken, who grew up in Germany where beer is deeply connected to culture and identity, developed the concept in 2024 after tasting a matcha beer at Kyoto Brewing Company in Japan. He saw botanicals not as a novelty, but as the foundation for an entirely new brewing category. Back in Austin, he partnered with Hi Sign Brewing owner Mark Phillippe and Master Brewer Kevin Decoud, who immediately embraced the idea and helped refine the brewing process.
“What excited me about Ceremony was the chance to rethink the brewing process around botanicals,” said Hi Sign’s Master Brewer Kevin Decoud. “Instead of finishing a beer and then adding an ingredient, we built the entire recipe around the botanical’s natural character. That changed how we approached balance, aroma, and structure — resulting in beers that feel both familiar and entirely new. The botanical defines the experience; the beer supports it.”
Matcha Botanical Pilsner (4.9% ABV): Brewed with premium matcha, this beer pours a natural green hue and delivers a clean, bright, subtly earthy profile that offers calm, focused energy.
Hibiscus Botanical Ale (4.9% ABV): Made with whole hibiscus flowers, it pours a striking deep ruby color. The beer is tart, refreshing, and lightly floral, drawing inspiration from traditional hibiscus drinks like Mexican aguas frescas, West African bissap, and Egyptian karkade.
About Ceremony Botanical Brewing
Founded by Jens Stoelken, Ceremony Botanical Brewing is America’s first botanical brewing company and the originator of Botanical Brewing — a new functional craft beer category. Instead of using botanicals as mere flavor additions, Ceremony builds beers around culturally significant natural ingredients, each crafted with intention. The independent brand is currently in residency at Hi Sign Brewing in Austin, Texas, with plans for wider availability.
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