Thumbs Down – Seasonal Beer Creep

Last night I had a few friends over to have a few beers and one of my buddies brought over a twelve pack of Harpoon Winter Warmer.  While it’s a great beer, it’s not winter yet!  Halloween was last weekend – it’s definitely still autumn.  We should still be enjoying our  pumpkin ales and other fall seasonals until Thanksgiving.  The official start of winter is about two months away!

Gregg Easterbrook, the author of Tuesday Morning Quarterback at ESPN, often writes about “Christmas Creep,” where people start advertising holiday specials, or selling holiday products way too far in advance (For example: Harrod’s in London selling Christmas teddy bears in late August).  The Christmas celebration seems to creep earlier and earlier every year.  

The same thing happens with seasonal beers, and it drives me crazy.  Last winter, I was home in Milwaukee for winter break, and right after the new year, Leinenkugel’s put up a billboard advertising their spring seasonal 1888 Bock.  In January, I’m still looking to drink their winter seasonal, Fireside Nut Brown because it’s still winter!

I understand why the breweries do it.  They want to sell as much of the seasonal beer as possible, and people are much more likely to buy a seasonal beer before the season really hits, than afterwards. However, seasonal beer creep still gets a thumbs down from me, because it takes the fun out of seasonal beer.  I want to buy a fresh six pack of Winter Lager when it’s winter, not while it’s still fall.

Leinenkugel’s Pink Lemonade – Thumbs Up

I went on the Miller Brewery tour on Monday, and was a little disappointed that I had already tried all the beers that I could sample at the end of the tour.  I was hoping to try the re-formulated Miller Chill since I wasn’t a fan of the original version, but I do enjoy a summertime Bud Light Lime.  I was hoping  However, in the end, I did get to try something new.  Upon hearing that our group was excited to have some Leinenkugel’s beers, one of the tour guides suggested that we try a mixture of two Leinenkugel’s beers, Berry Weiss and Summer Shandy.  The mixture is called a “pink lemonade” and it lives up to its name – it tastes just like one.  It’s sweet, delicious, and a perfect summertime drink.  Because of the sweet taste, it’s a perfect beer to start off an evening, but not something you want to be chugging all night playing drinking games.

Unfortunately, I don’t know of too many bars, even in Leine’s country here in Wisconsin, that have both Berry Weiss and Summer Shandy on tap, so if you want to try the drink for yourself, you might have to purchase a six-pack of each.