An Illinois State University-community collaboration never tasted so refreshing.

In September 2024, the University unveiled two officially licensed DESTIHL beers, Redbird Ale and Battle Bird Lager, with royalties supporting several Illinois State initiatives.

First sold during Homecoming weekend at Redbird volleyball and football games and now available at more than 50 locations across Central Illinois, the freshly brewed and branded beers produced by Normal-based DESTIHL were years in the making.

“We want to promote our brand in a really sharp and professional way, but we also want to have some fun with it when we can,” said Dani Schroeder, M.S. ’14, an assistant director for trademark licensing and project communications at Illinois State. “This was the perfect opportunity in a product category that’s outside of our normal realm.”

Originally pitched in 2018, the branded beer project was delayed until 2022 when Schroeder got the ball rolling again.

“There’s this trend of licensed beers that are becoming much more prevalent in the industry,” Schroeder said. “And DESTIHL is a great local business that we wanted to collaborate with.”

Schroeder told DESTIHL founder and CEO Matt Potts, “Here’s what we’re thinking. You’re our first choice given your size, your distribution capabilities, and your ties to the community.”

Potts responded almost immediately. “Your timing is uncanny, this is something we’ve been wanting to do with Illinois State,” he told Schroeder.

“We have a long history of working with ISU on many projects over the years, including marketing and business classes, presentations, and projects, and even an ag research project with ISU’s Department of Agriculture to determine the nutritional value of spent brewery grains for livestock,” Potts said. “So, we really wanted to strengthen our relationship and support of ISU by sponsoring Redbird Athletics and supporting our hometown university.”

Founded as a local brewpub in 2007, DESTIHL has grown to become a top-100 regional brewery by volume out of nearly 10,000 breweries in the U.S., with distribution in more than 40 states and internationally.

Among DESTIHL’s first three beers was Redbird Ale, an American red ale, although it wasn’t officially branded as an Illinois State beer at the time. Potts said it was a “no-brainer” to rebrand it with the trademarked Redbird logo.

“We knew we wanted to make two beers for ISU, with the other being a lighter option,” Potts said. “So, I researched ISU history and Athletics traditions, and when I read about the tradition of athletes rubbing the Battle Bird for good luck before sporting events, I knew that would be the perfect name for the second beer: Battle Bird Lager (a Munich Helles-style lager).”

University Marketing and Communications graphic designers Mike Mahle and Evan Walles ’06 took the lead on creating can art for the Battle Bird Lager and Redbird Ale, respectively.

“This was my first beer can design, and, honestly, I was super excited because it was on my bucket list to design a beer can,” Mahle said.

Over three days, Mahle turned his hand-drawn Battle Bird sketch into a digital vector illustration that included barrels, feathers, and wheat plumes.

“I wanted to do something that was a little bit more old-school looking,” Mahle said. “I wanted to really beef it up and just put as much in there as I could.”

Walles, a “pretty big craft brew guy,” sought inspiration from some of his favorite beer can designs. He also considered the flavor of Redbird Ale while designing the can art.

“We wanted to make it very ISU-branded and kind of play on nostalgia by using one of the vintage marks,” Walles said. “So, we used the ‘thumbs up Reggie,’ which is a favorite mark, and it fits really nicely on a beer can. I also included vertical stripes to play off of the old, striped Redbird basketball shorts.”

Potts said Mahle and Walles did a “fantastic job” creating the labels.

“We were very impressed and immediately loved them,” Potts said. “We didn’t change a thing other than typical legalese for label compliance.”

Schroeder, who oversees Illinois State’s branding efforts, described the design as “craft beers with a Redbird tilt.”

“I think that’s what makes them so cool,” Schroeder said. “They’re like a collector’s item.”

DESTIHL sold nearly 56,000 cans of Redbird Ale and Battle Bird Lager during the beers’ first four months on the market. Schroeder said she’s working with Potts to expand distribution, and they’re also planning to develop branded merchandise such as apparel, barware, and custom tap handles.

“A big part of this is about Redbird pride,” Schroeder said. “It’s a cool thing to be able to drink a Redbird-branded beer while you’re supporting Redbird student-athletes at Hancock Stadium, CEFCU Arena, or watching a game on TV—backing the Birds from wherever you are.”