Leinenkugel's "big, hairy, audacious goal"

‘Nine out of every 10 shandy-style beers sold in the U.S. are Leinenkugel beers, and I don’t want to give anybody an inch.’
Dick Leinenkugel, president of Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co.

Don't blame him a bit...

Below is the most interesting line in the entire story...it speaks volumes and has dollar signs written all over it!

Dick Leinenkugel: Summer Shandy is just March through August, but a couple years ago the research told us that nearly a third of Summer Shandy drinkers came from outside of beer: wine, malt beverage and spirits drinkers.

 

"Whatever you say...Dick"...Have at it, corner the market, never been my thing. Shandy's as a whole & 98% of Leinenkugel's stable of meh...including the Big Eddy stuff

 

It's always interesting to read beer article written from the Wall Street perspective. Leinenkugel's merger has remained interesting. The fact that they've kept some autonomy and kept their corporate partners happy this long is a sort of success story. They've found a niche, so good job?

 

All right, I admit straight out that I'm biased from the get-go on account of not liking any fruit anything in or near my beer, and that goes from a lime in a Corona to lambics, but I nonetheless knocked down a Shandy at a cookout this summer out of curiosity, and it's terrible.

It's not terribly made, it's not a terrible example of a shandy, it just tastes really bad as a beverage.

Who's drinking this stuff, and why?

 

I dunno -- the first release of the Big Eddy RIS was pretty legit, my hard-rawkin' brother!

P.S. This is a shout-out to "Smilin' Jake" Leinekugel: Get that Classic Amber out there in more than just a trickle and watch as your convert numbers soar. Seriously, it's one of the best in your portfolio, but corner that Shandy market if it's whhat puts the braces on the teefs of your great-grandkids. Ain't no shame in that.

 

A lot of people do, and it's because they like them.

 

I moved past Leinenkugel several years ago. No interest in them now. But I will drink a Summer Shandy in the summer if its free.

 

I almost never drink Leinenkugel these days (except the occasional Big Eddy offering), but Leiny Red was my gateway back in the 1990s. So I'm glad that they've found a way to carve out their corner of the market. Now here's hoping the success of the shandy line frees them up to have some fun experimenting and expanding Big Eddy...

 

Leinenkugel is always priced well and it really tastes great on a hot day in California's Central Valley. It's one of those beers that I don't analyze, I just take it for what it is.

 

The lemonade part of Summer Shandy has high fructose corn syrup in it so I don't want to drink it. I'm usually not an ingredient snob, except when it comes to beer. So to me, while Summer Shandy tastes okay and is pretty refreshing, at its heart it is just like Bud Lite with Lime.

 

If only summers in WI actually lasted that long

 

Leniekugel Red (classic amber?) would be my choice if I had to pick. A solid sessioner, everything else has been average to meh, as for Big Eddy...it's bigger than their regular line up for sure. Big Eddy stuff really seems like they're trying but most of them, like Sam Adams Imperial Series, come across as a hot mess for me.

 

Not the Red, this one. It has the exact sort of biscuit character the German Bier-o-ophiles crave, an the malt profile is more subtle overalll than the rest of their offerings. Definitely a "session"-style beer. Leinenkugel Original is also one that I dig fot the bitterness, alone (easily twice the IBU of your average Pabst brand, so for me, it's a nice fresh domestic alternative to an imported Pils.)

Sam Imperials are indeed hot messes, but as we are not allowed to speak ill of the Diva, Samuel Adams ROCKS!

 

Yeah, I was definitely thinking Red. No knocking SA, hell they have a lot more solids that I hunt(strong word) for than Leinnie; their Scotch Ale is probably my favorite & A Dark Night in Munich from the home brewers series a year or 2 back should be brewed by someone regularly best American take on a Dunkel I've had yet

 

Just looking up the Leinenkugel's brands on the database, now, and notice this one.

And on the other hand, they have a few others that might make me reach out for that winter sampler... if/when I see it. But 'round here these days we have about twenty new packaged brands from spankin' new Craft Breweries to catch my attention ('cuz shiny new packages, y'know, just tend to do that more. Kinda like a pretty young girl in a summer dress... )

Altogether, I see less market representation of the Boston Brewing portfolio in the local market than I do for Leinenkugel, but that's 100% owing to the strong regional focus of the latter (and Miller Brewing has traditionally been a very strong market presence.) Samuel Adams is always gaining, though, especially in recent years where some of the e.g. Craft brewers Alliance portfolio has struggled.

 

Why drink summer shandy when you can pound Stiegl Grapfruit Radler. So much better.

 

SA Porch Rocker too. Not a bad radler and pretty easy to find in the summer.

 

The Leinenkugel Big Eddy series is pretty decent. Not world class...but proof they can do some of the popular styles fairly well.

 

I used to be a Leine fan, but not so much any more....the Honey Weiss was nice after cutting the lawn/washing the car, but I think I'm done with them