United States & Germany: New German-American beer to be released next spring

America’s leading craft brewer Boston Beer Co. will team up with a venerable German brewery to jointly brew a new craft beer to be marketed in Germany and the U.S. next spring, The Associated Press communicated on October, 21.

Boston Beer CEO Jim Koch and Josef Schraedler, managing director of Weihenstephan announced this week that their two companies have been working together for two years on the beer, which they will make and market jointly.

It has yet to be named, but will be marketed in bottles with corks instead of the usual metal caps.

The Weihenstephan brewery, owned by the state of Bavaria, dates back to 1040 when Benedictine monks began making beer at their cloister outside Munich.

The new beer will also follow Germany's famed Reinheitsgebot, an ancient purity law — since 1516 — which stipulates that beer can be brewed with only four ingredients: water, malt, hops and yeast.

"We're creating a brand, a product that never existed before, a very premium brand," Koch said.

"Beer can stand with dignity and respect with the best of wine and spirits," he said, without elaborating on brewing style or price.

23 October, 2009