Popular seasonal beer continues to expand market area and increase production
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (November 23, 2009) – Point St. Benedict’s Winter Ale, an abbey-style “winter warmer” perfect for cold winter nights, proved so popular last winter that for the coming winter the Stevens Point Brewery increased production and expanded the ale’s distribution into three new states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
Brewed with dark-roasted malts and noble hops for a rich, warm, malty flavor, St. Benedict’s Winter Ale is available at retail through the end of January – or until supplies run out. “We doubled production of St. Benedict’s Winter Ale last year and increased production nearly 20% this year,” said Joe Martino, Stevens Point Brewery Managing Partner. “Seasonal beers continue to be the fastest growing segment of Craft Beers and St. Benedict’s Winter Ale remains one of our most popular seasonal craft beers. It’s the perfect beer to enjoy with family and friends during the holidays.”
St. Benedict’s Winter Ale will be included in the Stevens Point Brewery’s popular Variety Pack during the holidays, he added. The Variety Pack is a 12- beer Point sampler featuring bottles of Stevens Point Brewery’s current seasonal specialty beer along with bottles of Point Special Lager, Point Pale Ale, Point Classic Amber, Point Horizon Wheat and Point Belgian White.
Brewing St. Benedict’s Winter Ale
Point St. Benedict’s Winter Ale, sold in six-packs and 12-packs of long-neck NR bottles as well as kegs, is true to the traditional style of European abbey ales. It is very different from any other beer Point has brewed, according to John Zappa, Stevens Point Brewery’s brewmaster. “We use traditional abbey-ale ingredients, including a highly kilned dark malt, a two-row dark chocolate malt and even a two-row pilsener-style pale malt. Together these impart a smooth, well-balanced maltiness to this beer,” he explained. “St. Benedict’s Winter Ale is top-fermented with a special Belgian ale yeast, and we cellar-condition it at the brewery. The end result is a dark reddish-brown ale rich in flavor accented by hints of dark chocolate.”
The Legend of St. Benedict
St. Benedict of Nursia was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictine Order in about 520 A.D. According to legend, while living as a hermit in a cave near a mountaintop monastery in Italy, he was befriended by a raven that brought him food and saved his life. St. Benedict’s Winter Ale’s colorful packaging depicts a monk enjoying a mug of ale next to a glowing fire, watched over by a raven perched on the fireplace’s mantle. St. Benedict is famous for the Rule of St. Benedict, a comprehensive guide governing the daily life of monks living in monasteries, many of which brewed ale or made wine. The world’s oldest operating brewery, the Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan in Germany, began as a Benedictine monastery brewery nearly 1,000 years ago. Today monks at several monasteries in Holland and Belgium brew rich, dark abbey ales similar to St. Benedict’s Winter Ale.
The Stevens Point Brewery
Stevens Point Brewery, founded in 1857, uses only the highest-grade barley malts, specialty malts, grains and the choicest hops to brew their handcrafted beers, including flagship Point Special Lager, which won the gold medal in the American Premium Lager category at the 2003 Great American Beer Festival.
In addition to St. Benedict’s Winter Ale, Stevens Point Brewery seasonal specialty beers include Point Einbock, a Maibock-style lager for the spring; Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat, a crisp, refreshing wheat ale for the summer; and Point Oktoberfest, a Bavarian-style Märzen beer for the fall. Year-round specialty brands include Point Horizon Wheat, an unfiltered wheat ale; Point Belgian White, a Belgian-style wheat ale flavored with orange peel and coriander; Point Burly Brown American Brown Ale, an American-style brown ale introduced in February; Point Cascade Pale Ale, a hoppy American-style pale ale brewed with Cascade hops from the Yakima Valley; and Point Amber Classic, an American-style amber lager.
Point’s year-round specialty beers also include the Whole Hog Limited Edition Brewmaster’s Series. These “big beers” represent the epitome of the brewmaster’s art and round out the brewery’s specialty portfolio. Whole Hog Six-Hop India Pale Ale and Whole Hog Imperial Pilsner, were introduced last spring in four-packs of 12-ounce bottles. Whole Hog Six-Hop IPA is an India Pale Ale brewed with six varieties of hops from the Pacific Northwest. Whole Hog Imperial Pilsner is a hoppy, traditional German-style pilsner. The series latest addition is seasonal brew, Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale available throughout November.
For more information about the Stevens Point Brewery, visit www.pointbeer.com or call 1-800-369-4911. Tours of the brewery are available, with schedules listed on the web site.