Leinenkugel's new Lemon Berry Shandy was almost apple

The new Lemon Berry Shandy from Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. was almost an apple shandy, Dick Leinenkugel recently told me.

Leinenkugel on Aug. 29 announced its second shandy offering, piggybacking off the success of the mega-popular Summer Shandy. Leinenkugel is a subsidiary of Milwaukee-based Tenth and Blake Beer Co., the craft and import division of Chicago-based MillerCoors LLC that has seen strong growth since its 2010 inception.

Several different flavors were tested before the company settled on lemon berry as a new, year-round shandy, said Dick Leinenkugel, business development manager for Tenth and Blake.

?I remember in March at the MillerCoors distributor conference in Las Vegas, we were sampling an apple shandy,? Leinenkugel told me. ?It was received interestingly, but I would say not enthusiastically. We made a very quick decision at that point to say, ?This is not optimal, we need to go back to the drawing board.??

The company went to work on what eventually become Lemon Berry Shandy, which Leinenkugel said scored equal to and in some cases higher in likability than Summer Shandy among test audiences.

?We knew then that we had a winner,? Leinenkugel said.

So what do you think, avid beer drinkers? Does the new Lemon Berry Shandy rival Leinenkugel?s Summer Shandy?

Tweet me your thoughts @jeffreyrengel and read more about the growth of Tenth and Blake in my story for this week?s print edition.

Jeff Engel is The Business Journal's reporter covering the manufacturing industry.

Follow Your Favorites with My News

My News is a way to create a customized news feed based on companies and industries that matter to you.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vertical_13/~3/5O_4Nc3FIJI/leinenkugels-new-lemon-berry-shandy.html

vcu unlv sam young ncaa bracket ramon sessions portland trail blazers nba trade