Pixel & Pals Worldwide 2026: Phase Three Goes Global (Again)

Cody
26 minutes ago
5 min read

This Saturday, May 16th, Phase Three Brewing is launching haze across many time zones. For the second year in a row, the Lake Zurich based brewery is orchestrating a simultaneous worldwide release of its Pixel & Pals mixed pack, dropping four Pixel-inspired hazy IPAs at over 60 handpicked bars, bottle shops, and taprooms across the United States, England, and Japan, all at the same time. Same day. Same beers. One Gigantic release!

If you were paying attention to P3 last May, you already know the concept. They take Pixel, their flagship Citra-forward hazy IPA, and team up with a select group of breweries they admire to each put their own spin on it. The result is a limited mixed four-pack that showcases the different ways world-class brewers interpret the hazy IPA. Last year's inaugural Pixel & Pals featured collaborations with Omnipollo, North Park Beer Co., and Trillium Brewing, and the release made serious waves across the craft beer world. Year two raises the stakes even higher.

The Beers

This year's collaborators are Messorem Bracitorium, Brujos Brewing, and Parish Brewing Co. Three breweries with wildly different backgrounds and philosophies on what a hazy IPA can be. Phase Three co-owner and brewer Shaun Berns built Pixel & Pals around the idea that one flagship beer can be a jumping-off point for completely different interpretations when filtered through the lens of brewers he respects. What makes this year's lineup particularly exciting for me is that I've actually had the flagship beers from all three collaborating breweries; Demoliri, Populus, Ghost in the Machine. I know what each of these breweries brings to the table, and the idea of those identities colliding with Pixel has me unreasonably hyped (and should have you feeling the same way.)

Pixel (6.5% ABV) — The anchor. Phase Three's flagship hazy IPA and the beer that started this entire release day! Brewed with Citra on a base of oats, wheat, and Pilsner malt, Pixel is the purest expression of what Phase Three does best: pillowy, endlessly drinkable, Citra-forward haze. This is the constant that every collaboration in the pack is measured against.

Pixel Demoliri (8.0% ABV) — The collaboration with Messorem Bracitorium out of Montreal, and the beer in this pack I am most excited about. Messorem, which translates to "Reaper" in Latin, was founded by three heavy metal musicians who turned their obsession with beer into one of the most respected hazy IPA operations in Canada. Their taproom sits in a converted industrial space along the Lachine Canal, and they've built a reputation for hop-forward beers that punch well above their weight class. Messorem's Demoliri is a top 5 all-time beer for me. In our 2025 Hall of Foam, I named Demoliri 0009 my Beer of the Year. A 7% single IPA hopped with NZ Cascade, Motueka, and Simcoe that had this bright candied lemon-lime character, almost Sprite-like off the jump, followed by a sweet malt backbone and some nice bitter pith fruit that rounded it perfectly. When I saw that P3 was taking Pixel and mashing it together with the Demoliri framework, I genuinely lost it for a second. This DIPA version features Motueka and Nelson Sauvin at 8%, which should push the profile toward that same zesty lime and gooseberry territory that makes Demoliri so special, now filtered through Pixel's pillowy Citra backbone. Two of my favorite beers from two of the best hazy IPA breweries on the continent, combined into one glass. I don't think I need to explain why this is the first pour I'm reaching for on Saturday.

Pixel Populus (8.0% ABV) — The collaboration with Brujos Brewing, the Portland-based operation led by brewer Sam Zermeño. Brujos has been one of the most exciting names in hazy IPAs over the last few years, earning collab invites from the likes of Other Half, Great Notion, and Omnipollo. Sam doesn't hold back when it comes to hop saturation, and this one is no exception. Hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and Nelson Sauvin at 8%, Pixel Populus is described as heavily hopped. If you know Brujos, you know what to expect: ridiculously dank, juicy, and bright.

Pixel In The Machine (8.0% ABV) — The collaboration with Parish Brewing Co. out of Broussard, Louisiana. The name alone tells you exactly where this one's heart is. Parish is best known for Ghost in the Machine, one of the most iconic hazy DIPAs in the country, and this collab is a direct nod to that legacy run through the Pixel lens. Brewed with Citra and Citra Abstrax as a DDH Double IPA, this is the one that's going to have hazy IPA heads circling the block. Two breweries that have each built their identity around Citra-dominant haze, finally meeting in the middle.

All four beers will be available on draft and in very limited mixed four-packs at participating locations. Phase Three has also put together limited edition Pixel & Pals glassware, keychains, and stickers for this release, so if you're the type who collects the swag alongside the beer, showing up early is the move.

Where To Find It

Phase Three hand picked every single one of these locations, and the list stretches from the Midwest to the coasts to across the Atlantic and Pacific. Here's the full roster.