If you’re in an area that sells beers made by Tupps Brewery in the Dallas, Texas suburb of McKinney, you’re likely familiar with two of them, though they offer a diverse product line.
The top sellers are Tupps IPA — a West Coast-style IPA — and Juice Pack, a Hazy-Pale-Ale-turned-Hazy-IPA that is often a gateway beer for Texans expanding their horizons and learning about local craft.
While the dynamic is shifting with these two beers, Tupps owner Keith Lewis, who spoke to Brewer for its July-August cover story, said the two beers had enjoyed popularity in separate spaces since the brewery’s inception in 2015.
While Tupps IPA has been a top seller in Texas grocery stores, Juice Pack has been the king of the tap wall for the small company, being featured prominently in many restaurants that devote space to Texas craft beer.
The reason for that boils down to sales and strategy, Lewis said.
“If you go into a bar, you’ll see beers like Stone IPA and those are pretty hard to replace,” Lewis said. “I tell them, ‘Look, I’m not saying you should take that off, but take off your lowest performer and put our Juice Pack on.’ And, I think that’s why it kind of took off.
“People are conscious about price and margins and its gaining more traction.”
Juice Pack’s popularity has dovetailed with the company’s decision to evolve the beer from a Hazy Pale Ale to a full Hazy IPA, which is a change that was made fairly recently.
That has resulted in Tupps Juice Pack finding more success on the shelves as well.
“It was a hell of a gateway and it was good for Texas,” Lewis said. “It was a lower ABV, and we thought that was kind of a sweet spot. But we decided to change it. Going into 2023, we raised the alcohol a little to over 6% and lowered the price. We raised the alcohol, but kept the juiciness.”
That move was the push Juice Pack needed to see its sales numbers rise, Lewis said.
“A Hazy IPA at 6% at $9.99? It’s just flying,” Lewis said. “At $10 (as a pale ale), it was a little harder to move.”
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