North Coast Brewing Cans Pacific Magic West Coast IPA With Compostable Eco Rings

North Coast Brewing Company brought its Pacific Magic West Coast IPA to cans last Thursday, pairing the format change with an unusual packaging choice: Eco Rings, a 100% compostable, plant-based alternative to traditional plastic six-pack rings designed to break down in both home and commercial compost environments.

The Fort Bragg, California brewery introduced Pacific Magic in bottles back in May 2022, developed in collaboration with its field teams as the brewmasters ran through a multitude of modern hop varieties and hopping regimens chasing their ideal West Coast profile. The result pours golden straw with a dense head and hits the nose with heavy dry-hop tropical fruit aromatics, mango, papaya, and pineapple upfront, before citrus and berry notes come through on the palate and a clean, crisp finish closes it out. Getting that same beer into cans, which shield against light exposure, chill faster, and travel lighter than glass, was the logical next step for a beer NCBC describes as built for the rugged Pacific Coast lifestyle. The original bottled version will continue alongside the new format.

The Eco Rings decision carries particular weight for a brewery planted on the Mendocino Coast. "Our love of the ocean is deeply woven into our story," said Jennifer Owen, NCBC's CEO/CFO. "Releasing Pacific Magic in easily recyclable cans with compostable rings offers our fans a more portable way to enjoy the IPA they love while helping to keep the ocean plastics-free."

The cans carry the same artwork that appeared on the bottles, created by Michael Zontos, a California North Coast local who works as both an artist and an active fisheries biologist. The illustration centers on a gray whale rendered against vivid ocean blues and a blazing coastal sunset, with a dramatic split scene showing both above and below the waterline. The whale wasn't a purely compositional choice: Zontos selected it after a gray whale breached directly beside him while he was kayak fishing off the Noyo Headlands. Marty Compton, NCBC's VP of Sales and Marketing, explained how Zontos came into the project in the first place: "One of our team members has been collecting his art, and when we contacted Michael to see if he would be interested in working on our next label, he was thrilled to be a part of the Pacific Magic IPA story."

North Coast Brewing has been operating out of Fort Bragg since 1988, building a certified B Corp portfolio that includes Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, Scrimshaw, Pranqster, Le Merle, and Brother Thelonious, with distribution across 48 U.S. states and internationally. Pacific Magic in cans is available now; specific can sizes, ABV, and retail pricing were not disclosed in the announcement.