From Prism:
Seasonal creep has officially gotten out of hand. Breweries fighting for that all important shelf space have caused Spring Seasonal beers to come out before the first snow fall and fall seasonal beers to hit the shelves before the the Autumnal Equinox. This is somewhat understandable considering that seasonal bees make up between 15% and 25% of craft beer sales according to market research firm Symphony IRI. It is well known that the average craft beer consumers tend to stick with one of the first seasonal beers they try and that once they try it they move on to the new seasonal product. But a poll by Drinkcraftbeer.com found that 68% of consumers don't like seasonal creep. And Prism Brewing Company owner Rob DeMaria feels like it's gotten too out of hand and something needs to be done about it.
Prism has always had a more independent and some might say anti-establishment spirit; some of which comes from their fondness to the progressive rock bank Pink Floyd whose influence can be seen in Prism's logo and Floyd themed events. They also believe in 'drink fresh - drink local' and are helping to add 'Drink in season' to that mantra. So beginning with the release of Shady Blonde they will do just that.
The idea for Shady Blonde came from a friend of the owner who loved the Blood Orange Margarita at El Vez in Philadelphia. After some research we found that Blood Oranges are only available from January through mid-April. Since we refuse to use flavor extracts or purees we knew this beer would need to be a 'spring' seasonal. And although it comes out in February, at the height of the cold weather, this is due more to the availability of blood oranges than our desire to brew beer out of season.
Now in it's fourth season being brewed, Shady Blonde has grown to be one of our top selling beers. So much so the we knew we had to find a way to run it through the summer when we all look for a little shady without compromising the purity of using all natural ingredients with no preservatives. So we went out and bought enough blood oranges to last us until July, had a juicing party, and froze the juice! Now Shady Blonde and Red Zone will split the year in half creating a 'sunny seasonal' to go along with our already popular 'football seasonal'.
Our 4.5% ABV warm weather blonde is a refreshing break from the norm and a perfect way to find some shade on a sunny day. The Blood Oranges add just a touch of tartness that enhances the dry feeling of this beer and provides a great citrus blast to cool you down. This highly sessionable ale has the flavor that you have been looking for and is THE beer to celebrate the sun.
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