"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee is back! For the entire month of March, we're serving up fun articles on bars, clubs and beverages – including guides, the latest trends, bar reviews, the results of our Best of Bars poll and more. Follow along with the #DrinkOnMke hashtag too. Grab a designated driver and dive in!

New Barons Brewing Cooperative, a member-owned brewery, will soon offer its award-winning IPA beer, Hopped By Ziggy, in cans. 

A Hopped By Ziggy can release party is set for Saturday, March 14 at Tonic Tavern, 2335 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Tonic will have Hopped By Ziggy on tap, but six packs of cans must be pre-ordered via the New Barons' website. The six packs will be available for pick-up during the release party, from 5 to 10 p.m.

Hot by Ziggy – local reggae-rock group and the "Band Behind the Beer" – will perform at 7 p.m.

"We’ve sold over 1,400 cans already, but still have some available," says Barons co-founder John DeGroote. 

The next can release is currently being voted on by the co-op's member-owners and should be announced later this spring.

"We are still distribution only, but can be found all around the metro area and have over 40 accounts," says DeGroote.

The designs on the cans are intended to tell stories about the co-op and its members.

"A can is often a brewery’s best piece of branding after all, so we thought featuring our life blood, our member-owners, was the best way to spread our mission," says DeGroote.

Last year, Hopped By Ziggy won the people’s choice at the WI IPA Fest. The beer tributes five of the New Barons' member-owners who are also in Hot By Ziggy.

The new can features a short synopsis about the band along with a code that takes the user to the band’s homepage after snapping a picture of it via the photo search function in Spotify.

"We wanted the band to get as much promo from the can as we did, mostly because they co-own this brewery with us, along with over 200 others," says DeGroote. "The band has also used the central part of the can label for one of their LPs."

New Barons brews batches at the Wood Violet House (formerly the Enlightened Brewery facility) and at Mobcraft. The group has brewed 14 different brands since its inception in 2016.

"We’re always looking to tell more stories as well, so we encourage anyone to become a member and tell us their story, inspire us and help us brew the next great brand at New Barons," says DeGroote.