Pelican Brewing Celebrates 25 Years with Bird-Day Volume 1 – A Collaboration with Whitney Burnside

Pelican Brewing celebrates its 25th year with its new Bird-Day Collaboration Series that will feature four collaboration beers brewed with alumni of the storied brewery. The first release is Bird-Day Volume I, a beer brewed and developed by Pelican brewmaster Darron Welch and Pelican alumna Whitney Burnside now of 10 Barrel Brewing – Portland.

Pelican Brewing was founded by Jeff Schons, Mary Jones and brewmaster Darron Welch in 1996 when craft brewing was in its infancy. Since this time, Pelican has gone on to have been awarded over 450 awards. A few highlights include the prestigious 2015, 2016, 2017 Australian International Beer Awards Champion Medium International Brewery; 2014 World Beer Cup Champion Small Brewery; 2013 Great American Beer Festival Large Brewpub of the Year. Quite an accomplishment!

Now 25 years later the brewery that has some of the most scenic views is ready to celebrate its silver anniversary. In doing so Pelican brewing will collaborate on four beers that bring together some of brewery’s most notable alumni. The first release, Bird-Day Volume 1, is now available.

“Being able to come back to Pelican and create this beer with Darron and the entire Pelican family is an honor,” said Whitney Burnside, head brewer of 10 Barrel Brewing – Portland, in a statement. “Pelican has an indelible mark on my career. It’s where I learned the skills and discipline to be a brewer.”

“The most rewarding part of the 25 years I have spent at Pelican has been teaching and learning from incredibly talented brewers that have walked through these doors,” said Darron Welch, in a statement. “Whitney has a unique talent to think about the beer from a culinary perspective. She considers different flavors and how they will present in beer; she created amazing beers while at Pelican and continues to do so in her current role.  She is a leader in the craft beer industry.”

Bird-Day Volume 1 is an imperial porter brewed with passionfruit and cacao nibs that features a rich malt character offset by a bright streak of passionfruit tartness. This velvety imperial porter that sits at 8.5% ABV and 40 IBUs  is now available in 500mL bottles at your local bottle shop, on draft at Pelican brewpubs, and through Pelican’s new beer subscription service called the Bird-Day Box.

The Bird-Day Box is a subscription for craft beer enthusiasts who seek new and innovative beers delivered each quarter, celebrating each Bird-Day Volume release. Each Bird-Day Box includes six 500mL bottles of that quarter’s current Bird-Day release and exclusive first access to a Pelican 25^th birthday merchandise item.

“The demand for rare and unique beers continues to rise, and we wanted to create a solution to guarantee our customers receive our coveted Bird-Day birthday collaborations,” said Jim Prinzing, CEO of Pelican Brewing Company, in a statement. “The Bird-Day Box is a reflection of our commitment to push the boundaries of innovation and always deliver the freshest beer to our customers.”

Pelican fanatics can choose to purchase the yearlong subscription service for a one-time price of $500, including shipping, or choose to buy the boxes quarterly. Purchase of the subscription service guarantees customers the lowest price and delivery of the beers each quarter.

The subscription box is only open to Oregon residents, and you must be 21 years or older to purchase. The first Bird-Day Box featuring Bird-Day Volume I Imperial Porter will be released on February 19th, 2021 and can be ordered at https://shop.pelicanbrewing.com/collections/bird-day-boxes. Shipping for the first box starts March 1, 2021 and quantities are limited.

In addition to its collaboration with Whitney Burnside, Pelican Brewing will collaborate on additional beers this year with three other alumni, including Ben Love of Gigantic Brewing, Jason Schonemann of Steel Toe Brewing, and Hutch Kugeman of Brooklyn Brewery.