MILWAUKEE – For the third consecutive year, Pilot Project Brewing, in conjunction with Milwaukee Athletics, is set to welcome its Panther beer this week – launched for the 2025-26 season with a new design.

The "Panther Pale Ale", an American pale ale beer, will make its first appearance in a new can design this week to celebrate the multi-part collaboration in time for the holiday season.
 
An officially licensed product, the beer was first developed two years ago in partnership between Pilot Project Brewing, Craft Beverage Warehouse, Milwaukee Athletics, the UWM Peck School of the Arts, and CLC, the University's trademark licensing company. Today marks the beginning of the third straight year of the multi-part collaboration.
 
The cans will make their debut and be available to the public for the first time at UWM Panther Arena for the men's basketball contest against Robert Morris December 6. The person who purchases the 100^th can of Panther Pale Ale that evening at the game against the Colonials will win a $100 gift card to Pilot Project Brewing.

Director of Athletics Amanda Braun and General Manager for Milwaukee Panther Sports Properties Kristina Filipovic helped move the process to once again bring the concept to market, through the work that current Panther Athletics staff members and University leadership put into this concept to make it a reality.
 
"We are pleased to continue this unique partnership with Pilot Project Brewing, Craft Beverage Warehouse and the Peck School of the Arts," Braun said. "This project showcases a true collaboration across campus and across the Milwaukee business community by providing student designers a real-world experience. The can design elements creatively reinforces this partnership by featuring campus and city landmarks."
 
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the beer will be directed to student scholarships and other student-centered programming at UWM.
 
Macy Franti of Gillett, Wis., and a Design and Visual Communications Bachelor of Fine Arts major at UWM, created the artwork that was selected to appear on the product. Her winning design was one of numerous submissions made by UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts students that worked its way through the approval process.
 
"I'm beyond grateful for the opportunity to represent UWM and PSOA in this collaboration with Panther Athletics, Pilot Project Brewing, and Craft Beverage Warehouse," Franti said. "The skills and experiences I've gained as a student at UWM have encouraged me to visualize the connection between our campus and community. The design acts as a collage illustrating the iconic elements that make Milwaukee our home. It captures the lively feeling of being surrounded by the city that leaves lasting impressions on students, alumni, and community members. UWM has given students like me a strong foundation to grow creatively and explore all the opportunities Milwaukee has to offer."
 
Robert Grame, the Co-Area Head and Associate Professor, Department of Art & Design – Peck School of the Arts, was also happy to share in the process.
 
"We are excited to once again have students in Art 329, Package Design, participate in this fantastic project activity," Grame said. "This year's selection, completed by Macy Franti, continues to build on the outstanding design work that has been on display over the last three years we have been a part of the project."

The product will be available for purchase at UWM Panther Arena, Pilot Project Brewing and other select bars/restaurants and liquor stores in the greater Milwaukee area. Any retailers interested in carrying Panther Pale Ale should reach out to Sales@PilotProjectBrewing.com.
 
"Pilot Project is so happy to partner with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for a third year!" Pilot Project Co-Founder and CEO Dan Abel said. "Putting the can design project in the hands of the student in the classroom is what makes this program truly stand out. As a beverage incubator headquartered in Milwaukee, we're proud to be a part of something different that puts entrepreneurial influence in the hands of brilliant creatives. The UWM partnership lets us do just that!"
 
Craft Beverage Warehouse is again printing the cans and packaging for the product, one with a design that came directly from students at the UWM Peck School of the Arts, while CLC was involved with officially licensing the product and signing the agreement with Pilot to allow for the brand on the beer.
 
Craft Beverage Warehouse (CBW) is once again thrilled to support UWM's Panther Pale Ale project," CBW President and Co-Founder Kyle Stephens said. "Collaborating with our local institutions and directly with students in the classroom provides a real-world opportunity to understand what it takes to bring a beverage to the market. As a local business run by and employing several UWM graduates, it's pretty cool to see this product on the shelves and crack one open at a ball game." 

Stephens, a UWM graduate, is thrilled to be a part of the collaboration once again.
 
Pilot Project Brewing is a brewery incubator & restaurant located in the Brewery District of Milwaukee, Wis., Pilot Project was launched as a collaborative and artistically curious space to help support talented brewers in an industry with exceptionally high barriers. Modeled after the music industry, Pilot serves as a launch pad for start-up breweries, offering assistance with recipe R&D, production scaling, marketing, distribution and more.