Sales from the purchase of the Pride Pie, created by Cushnoc Brewing Co. in Augusta will go to benefit EqualityMaine for Pride month. Contributed photo

For Pride month, Cushnoc Brewery Co. on Water Street in Augusta is offering their custom-themed pizza for the second year. Topped with creative toppings of every color — except blue this year — of the Pride flag represented.

“Unfortunately there wasn’t a blue ingredient that worked with the other flavors, so we left that off this year,” said Amber Hynes, the Cushnoc kitchen manager and wife of co-owner Casey Hynes. “We didn’t want to add something that didn’t taste delicious.”

Dubbed the Pride Pie, it has pepperoni and red sauce, orange peppers, fresh pineapple, fresh jalapeños, mozzarella and red onion.

“The iconic rainbow flag was a natural and fun inspiration to theme a pie around while also supporting an organization we value, Equality Maine,” said Amber Hynes. “I worked with our kitchen staff to choose the ingredients that matched the colors of the flag. The flavors complement each other well with a sweet and spicy theme.”

A portion of the Pride Pie sales will go to EqualityMaine to help secure full equality for our LGBTQ+ community in Maine.

“The community reaction has been great and the pie is selling well. We are known for our specialty pizzas, which rotate on a weekly to monthly basis,” she said. “We love putting together specials that highlight seasonal ingredients, pair with our beers, or are inspired by something unique and creative.”

Cushnoc opened in October 2017 and was started by Casey Hynes, who is the General Manager, Chris Geerlings, the brewer, Tobias Parkhurst, who is the building owner and Jamie Bass.

“I have always been interested and passionate about food, so when we decided to invest our savings in the business, I decided I wanted to learn about our product,” she said. “I started making dough at home, reading and learning about pizza, and we started putting flavors together. We would have ‘pizza parties’ at our house with the other owners and their families to taste those pizzas and Chris’ first beers. Some of those pizzas and beers are still on our menu today!”