STEVENS POINT, Wis. (June 25, 2015) – For beer lovers, the long hot days of summer call for crisp, refreshing fruit beers.

The Stevens Point Brewery has answered the call with its Long Days variety 12-pack featuring four new seasonal fruit lagers just for summer: Point Lime Lager, Mango Lager, Tart Cherry Lager and Watermelon Mojito Lager. Introduced at retail during May wherever Point handcrafted beers are sold, the Long Days variety pack contains three 12-ounce longnecks of each new fruit brew.

Fruit beers continue to blossom across the craft-beer landscape and seasonal variety packs are also a fast-growing trend for craft brewers like Stevens Point Brewery, especially for the long days of summer. According to MarketWatch, sales of craft beer seasonal variety packages increased 21% in 2014, capturing more than 9% of all U.S. craft-beer sales for the year.

“Long hot summer days and cold beer are natural companions,” said Julie Birrenkott, Stevens Point Brewery’s Marketing Director. “The variety pack delivers a combination of unique, very refreshing fruit flavors, the perfect solution for beer drinkers seeking to relax and quench their thirst on hot summer evenings.”

Brewing Long Days lagers

Just the right balance between malt and hops and fresh fruit flavors is what Point Brewmaster Gabe Hopkins and his brewers aim for when they brew their new pale golden summer lagers.

Point Lime Lager is bursting with the citrusy crispness of pure, clarified lime juice from Florida-grown limes added during the brewing process. “This is a very clean, well-balanced beer,” Hopkins said. “The lime is a not-too-sweet citrus component that marries very well with the beer’s clean maltiness, adding a tart crispness to the flavor,” he said.

Point Mango Lager offers the flavor of freshly picked Florida mangoes combined with two-row malted barley and Mount Hood hops grown in the Pacific Northwest. “Mango is a very aromatic fruit and gives Mango Lager a delicate, Caribbean-style character,” Hopkins reported.

Point Tart Cherry Lager has a prominent, pleasing cherry nose, said Hopkins, who uses clarified cherry juice in his recipe. “The tartness from the cherry juice is one of the characteristics that define Point Tart Cherry Lager as a true summer beer,” he said.

Point Watermelon Mojito Lager is an intriguing combination of crisp lager with fresh watermelon juice, clarified cucumber juice and a hint of mint. Point’s brewers add 40 pounds of fresh mint leaves – the beer’s signature – for each 100-barrel brew, according to Hopkins. “This beer is one of my personal favorites,” Hopkins said. “We steep the mint leaves in cold water before adding them before the fermentation process begins. The watermelon, cucumber and mint flavors all come through very nicely.”

The Long Days lagers are refreshing summer session beers and great grilling companions, according to Hopkins. “They are just right for the long, hot days of summer,” he said.

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 its handcrafted beers.

The Long Days variety pack is Stevens Point Brewery’s second variety 12-pack. Four unique year-round India pale ales – Point Spruce Tip IPA, Point Peach Mango IPA, Point White IPA and Point One Shot IPA – are available only in the Point IPA variety 12-pack introduced last year. The brewery’s year-round lineup also features flagship Point Special Lager; Point Onyx Black Ale, a robust dark ale; Point Belgian White, a Belgian-style wheat ale; Point Drop Dead Blonde Ale, a golden ale; Point Cascade Pale Ale, an American-style pale ale; Point Amber Classic, an American-style amber lager; and Point Beyond the Pale IPA, a robust, hoppy India Pale Ale. Year-round products include the Whole Hog Limited Edition “big beers:” Whole Hog Espresso Stout, Whole Hog Six-Hop India Pale Ale, Whole Hog Raspberry Saison, Whole Hog Russian Imperial Stout, Whole Hog Barley Wine Ale and Whole Hog Scotch Ale. Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale is a fall seasonal.

The brewery’s seasonal beers include summer favorites Point Coast Radler, a mix of beer and natural citrus flavors, and Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat, an award-winning unfiltered wheat ale; Point Oktoberfest, a Bavarian-style Märzen beer; Point St. Benedict’s Winter Ale, a rich, dark beer available from November through February; and Apricadabra Apricot Wheat Ale for the spring. Point also brews four unique James Page specialty beers sold only in convenient 12-ounce cans: A Cappella Gluten-free Pale Ale, Casper White Stout, Yhaba Dhaba Chai Tea Porter and Healani Pineapple Hefeweizen.

Point’s Ciderboys Cider Co. hard ciders blend unexpected fresh fruit flavors with apple cider. Ciderboys’ year-round products are First Press, a traditional hard cider; Raspberry Smash, alive with the tartness of raspberries; and Strawberry Magic, a blend of fresh strawberries and apple cider. Ciderboys also produces winter seasonal Mad Bark, made with natural cinnamon; fall seasonal Cranberry Road, a pairing of apple cider and cranberries; and seasonals Pineapple Hula, Peach County and Grand Mimosa. Pineapple Hula is made with fresh Hawaiian pineapple, Peach County combines pure peach flavor with apple cider, and Grand Mimosa is a winter cider made with succulent California oranges.

Gourmet soft drinks from the Stevens Point Brewery include Point Premium Root Beer, Point Premium Diet Root Beer, Point Premium Orange Cream, Point Premium Vanilla Cream, Point Kitty Cocktail and Point Premium Black Cherry Cream Soda.

For more information about the Stevens Point Brewery, please visit www.pointbeer.com or call 1-800-369-4911. Tours of the brewery are available; schedules are listed on the website.

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