Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Saturday, May 26, 2007

City Brewery’s Golden Leaf Pale Ale to debut next week

Dick Riniker photo

By STEVE CAHALAN / La Crosse Tribune

City Brewery’s new Golden Leaf Pale Ale will make its debut next week in Coulee Region bars, restaurants and stores.

The new brew will have slightly more bitterness and “citrus floral bouquet” than City Pale Ale, which it replaces, said Jon Reynolds, the brewery’s director of marketing and sale. “The market is moving in that direction,” he said of the characteristics of the brewery’s new pale ale.

Reynolds also said the brewery dropped its City Lager beer brand a few months ago.

“It wasn’t selling enough,” he said of that brand, which was one of the originals for City Brewery when it opened in late 1999 in the former G. Heileman Brewery. City Brewery’s other brands will continue, Reynolds said.

Specialty beers are the fastest-growing segment of the beer industry. One example is the Golden Leaf Wheat beer that has been a success for City Brewery since it was introduced last summer.

The success of the wheat brand launched the decision to use the Golden Leaf name for a second product, Reynolds said. Golden Leaf originally was a light lager made at the Heileman brewery in the early 1900s. The brand name was reintroduced in 1940 but was discontinued several years later.

Golden Leaf Pale Ale will be available on tap and in bottles. In stores, it will be sold in six packs, and in a new 12-pack that includes six bottles of Golden Leaf Pale Ale and six bottles of Golden Leaf Wheat.

Production at the City Brewery jumped by 51 percent in 2006, partly because of the increased popularity of non-alcoholic products such as energy drinks and ready-to-drink tea. Its own brands represented only about 1 percent of the brewery’s total volume. Contract production of beverages for other companies accounted for the rest.

Steve Cahalan can be reached at (608) 791-8229 or scahalan@lacrossetribune.com.