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Happy Saturday….and check it out…so you CAN be drinking a Modelo Especial Chelada in a new 24oz Can. Yes it’s beer mixed with tomato, salt and lime, and when done well is very tasty. Of course it’s only 3.5% ABV and brewed in Mexico.
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Here’s a really interesting new 12oz bottle coming from Dogfish head called Northfield Mount Hermon--a rich hoppy ale with honest-to-goodness Northfield Mt. Hermon Maple Syrup. Northfield Mt. Hermon is a private boarding school in Gill, MA that also has a farm program that produces among other things, maple syrup. This ale with maple syrup celebrates the 25th anniversary of the NMH Class of 1988 and it appears to be a beer brewed for that reunion celebration. Northfield Mount Hermon will come in at 6.2% ABV.
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We brought you the story of this beer, and now we get to see the actual label for the Cigar City GWAR Beer. This beer is brewed for the GWAR B-Q 2013 festival and it will be packaged in an unusual container for Cigar City---a 16oz CAN! This beer is brewed exclusively for the 4th annual GWAR B-Q and it will come in at 5% ABV.
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Here’s another keg-only release from Sierra Nevada. This one is called 99 IFA and it is an India style farmhouse ale that comes in at 5.9% ABV.
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This beer appears to be the first release in a new series of beers from Long Trail called the Brush & Barrel Series. This series of beers will celebrate the art of Vermont, and this first release is simply called Imperial Pumpkin. This label features the artwork of Jess Polanshek and the beer is brewed by our pal Dave Hartmann. Imperial Pumpkin will be packaged in 22oz bottles and come in at 8% ABV.
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Today we get a peek at three great looking new labels coming from Crooked Stave for Vieille, Surette & Hop Savant. These are 12.7oz bottles and the artwork is fantastic. Vieille (“Old”) is an Artisanal Saison aged in oak barrels and it will come in at 4.2% ABV, Surette is a Provision Saison aged in oak barrels that comes in at 6.2% ABV and Hop Savant is a Pale Ale fermented in Oak Foeders with 100% Brett yeast. Hop Savant uses 36% Citra, 36% Mosaic & 28% Simcoe hop and it comes in at 6.7% ABV. 
Today we get the first look at a new 12oz package design coming from Bud Light called “Smooth Trigger.” This new pull tab design is supposed to allow the beer to flow more smoothly for “superior drinkability.” As always this beer has 110 calories per 12oz serving.
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Looks like Short’s is taking aim at Corona with their Cerveza De Julie Mexican Style Lager with Lime Added. This beer will be package din 12oz bottles and no word on ABV.
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Here’s a peek at the keg label for 961 Beer Lebanese Imperial Stout. This new brew comes from Lebanon, this is a keg label only and the beer is brewed with coffee and cardamom. Look for Lebanese Imperial Stout to come in at 8% ABV.
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I know I want to see more and more photos from inside the new Sierra Nevada Mills River, NC facility, so when I get the chance to share them…I’m excited to show off what our pal Brian Grossman has going on. The full set of photos are here.
Above: Spiral-shaped pieces for the conveyor system are installed. They’ll guide finished cases of beer onto an overhead track and into the cold-storage warehouse.
Below: Workers install glass panels on what will eventually become the tour walkway alongside the packaging hall. 
Workers fit parts onto the bottling system as the packaging hall inches toward completion. This complex machinery is one of the most labor intensive and tricky aspects of the entire brewing operation.
Stone Enjoy By 07.14.13 will be bottled on 05/31 and will be coming to Northern California, Southern California Missouri, Texas and Washington. Expect the beer to hit these markets on 6/5. 
I’ve never been known for featuring a traditional seasonal beer at the appropriate time on the WILK Friday BeerBuzz…and while sometimes I just prefer to fly in the face of convention, every so often it just seems like we should do it right. Today we chose to feature a traditional summer beer, with some really interesting historical roots and sample it right as summer appears to be reaching Northeastern PA.
Our beer today was Leinenkugel’s Summer Shady…and I know before I even type that and before I even speak those words on the radio, the craft-beer and anti-Shandy Armies are amassing at my borders…but wait before you slaughter me for featuring such a beer.
First off, realize that the shandy style dates back to 1922 in Germany. Based on the German Radler, the story goes that a group of cyclists entered a pub in Germany to enjoy a few beers. Not wanting them to drink and cycle, the bartender began cutting their wheat beers with the only thing he had available….Lemonade. The style became an instant classic and in fact the word Radler translates to “cyclist” in German.
Jump forward to 2012 and Jacob Leinenkugel’s introduces their Summer Shandy, and while the originals of the word Shandy may come from a different country, the style is a classic Radler. Summer Shandy is a Wheat Beer with natural lemon flavor and you’ll not only be surprised by how drinkable it really is, but also by how popular it has become.
Yes I know Jacob Leinenkugel’s is backed by 10th and Blake, the craft beer arm of SAB Miller, but even this will surprise you. Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy accounts for 40% of ALL sales coming from Leinenkugels. The sales for Summer Shandy have increased by 90% in 2012 and this beer is part of the largest TV advertising campaign ever to come from Leinenkugels. Even though cans and bottles are now available in ALL 50 states…Fasten your seatbelts because I expect you’ll see a lot more of the Summer Shandy Army in the future.
As if that wasn’t enough fun for one show, we decided to make our own Shandy in the South American tradition of cutting beer with lemon-lime soda. We sampled side by side, and while our base beer was different and our soda was not exactly the same as lemonade, it was still pretty interesting and still pretty drinkable.
No doubt Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy wins that comparison and despite what you may think of Leinenkugel’s or the Shandy style, I have no doubt you’ll bee seeing a lot more of it. Try this one for yourself….especially on a hot summer day and see if you agree.
Thank you to, Nancy, LA & Joe for yet another
fun Friday.
The Friday BeerBuzz…bringing good beers and good people together. As always you can check out the video on-line at the WILK Friday BeerBuzz page by clicking HERE.
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Today we get to see the apostrophe's gone wild with release No 16 in the Avery Brewing Barrel-Aged Series. This is Ross’s’s’ Melange Barrel-Aged Wild Ale and no that’s not a typo. Ross’s’s’ Melange I an ale brewed with grape must and aged in Chardonnay barrels, it will be packaged in 12oz bottles (limited to 105 cases)and come in at 7.89% ABV. I’m sure there’s a story behind the multiple apostrophe’s, but based on the label I’d say Ross is their pessimistic warehouse forklift operator.
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Today we get a peek at the new packaging for New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale. This is a specialty limited run package for 12oz bottles that will feature both Clips of Faith & Tour de Fat schedule backer.
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