ST. LOUIS – This summer, Beck’s beer continues its long-standing support for today’s most original artists, by showcasing their creative work on a series of limited-edition art bottles.

Now through July 2012, all 12-ounce bottle labels will transform to display one of six original designs created exclusively for Beck’s.  Artists include Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter M.I.A. from London, Aerosyn-Lex from New York, Bert Rodriguez from Los Angeles, Freegums from Miami, Geoff McFetridge from Los Angeles and Willy Chyr from Chicago.

“To me, as an artist, there is a responsibility that goes with the opportunity to create art and put it out there in the world, whether it’s on a Beck’s bottle or you’re hanging it up in a gallery,” said singer/artist M.I.A., who debuted her new song “Bad Girls” earlier this year and will release a single in June, with an album to follow in the fall.

For more than 25 years, Beck’s has been a supporter of the arts and a champion of independent thinking.  Beck’s has featured the work of legendary artists such as Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons – many before they became cultural icons.  Beck’s selected these six artists for the new U.S. labels based on the originality of their accomplishments in the artistic and graphic design world.

“We are always looking to support artists who are doing really interesting and groundbreaking work.  The stuff that may go unnoticed at first, but can’t be ignored,” said Chris Curtis, brand manager for Beck’s.  “These artists are shaping our culture and we are excited to share their creative ideas with Beck’s drinkers around the country.”

About the artists:

• M.I.A. – London
  An artist of many mediums since childhood, the Sri Lankan-born, London-bred Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam began her music career in 2000 with encouragement from electro-clash icon Peaches.  Beginning in 2005 with her first album, her work has been released to unanimous international critical praise for its deft mixture of politics, social consciousness and inimitable genre-blending.  M.I.A.’s label design for Beck’s is untitled.

• Geoff McFetridge – Los Angeles
  McFetridge is one of the world’s most established graphic artists.  His work includes title-design for the skateboard company Chocolate, and a number of acclaimed television shows and cinematic features.  McFetridge’s label design is titled One of All of Us.
• Aerosyn-Lex – New York
  Aerosyn-Lex Meštrovic´ is a designer and calligrapher.  Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Meštrovic´ is a graduate of both Pratt Institute and Temple University of Japan, and has lived and worked in New York and Tokyo.  Meštrović’s label design is titled AQUARELLVM.
• Bert Rodriguez – Los Angeles
  Rodriguez is a performance artist who does not limit himself to working within a set range of media and is unencumbered by commitment to any identifiable style, genre or method of expression. Rodriguez’s label design is titled Where I Need The Most Cheering Up.
• Freegums – Miami
  Peruvian-born Alvaro Ilizarbe is the artist and designer behind Freegums.  Miami-based, he explores space, patterns and the energy that lies in-between.  Freegums’ label design is titled A Bit of Spacial Tension.
• Willy Chyr – Chicago
  The combination of degrees in physics and economics, alongside time spent with Le Vorris & Vox Circus where he learned how to twist balloons, has resulted in Chyr’s incredible science-inspired artworks of stunning inflated balloon sculptures.  Chyr’s label design is titled A Glimpse of Something Ephemeral.

“With the opening of the new brewery and increased production capabilities we’ve wanted to start adding beer to our line-up since opening in October 2011,” said Chris Trogner. “In early March we finally caught up with customer demand and we are excited to finally add a new year-round beer to our roster.”

Beer description: “In our constant evolution as a brewery, we’ve developed on undying drive to meld the organic and the mechanical. Perpetual IPA utilizes our hopback and dry-hopping to engineer a bold Imperial Pale Ale. Perpetual IPA is 7.5% ABV and 85 IBUs. It features Bravo, Chinook and Mt. Hood hops in the boil, Mt. Hood and Nugget hops in the hopback and Citra, Cascade and Nugget hops in dry-hopping.”

The festival brings together more than 40 breweries and 100+ beers to quench attendees thirst for great beer and a wonderful charitable cause: to support Willow Grove Community Services Inc. and the individuals who benefit from their programs.

Tickets for the Willow Grove Craft Beer Festival are $35 for general admission, if purchased prior to the event, or $45 at the door.

Willow Grove Community Services Inc. is a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt non-profit organization. Helping the community for more than a decade, its mission is to provide social service programs and assistance in the greater Willow Grove areas for at-risk children, military veterans and needy individuals and families. Willow Grove Community Services Inc. also takes part in other special community projects.

ST. LOUIS (May 8, 2012) – For the first time in many years, the iconic Budweiser bottle will see a major makeover – special red, white and blue packaging for a limited window this summer.

The new design comes in advance of a summer initiative in which the brand will contribute a portion of all sales from May 20 – July 7 to help raise as much as $2.5 million for the Folds of Honor Foundation*, which provides post-secondary educational scholarships for families of U.S. military personnel killed or disabled while serving their country.

The patriotic bottle, which comes with one of five decorated bottle caps, features the brand’s iconic bowtie as its focal point. Budweiser cans and secondary packaging also will convert to red, white and blue for a limited time, beginning in mid-May and continuing until mid-July.

“It’s going to be a red, white and blue summer for Budweiser – most visibly in our packaging but more importantly in our philanthropic support for the families of America’s fallen heroes through the Folds of Honor Foundation,” said Rob McCarthy, vice president of Budweiser at Anheuser-Busch. “Our partnership with Folds of Honor is helping to make a difference in the lives of families whose loved ones have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedoms we all hold so dear.”

This year’s patriotic packaging will be available in 8-, 12-, 16- and 24-ounce cans and in a 12-ounce glass bottle, 16-ounce plastic bottle and 16-ounce aluminum bottle. The patriotic theme continues on secondary packaging for all of the top-selling configurations, including 6-packs, 24-packs, 30-packs and other popular sizes.

McCarthy said other components of Budweiser’s “Red, White and Blue Summer” are:

• “Walk Off a Hero:” There is no more exciting play in baseball than a walk-off, when the home team wins the game in the bottom of the final inning. This season, Budweiser is making the moment even more special by helping to change the lives for families of America’s heroes through the “Walk off a Hero” program. Budweiser will donate $5,000 for every walk-off (the equivalent of one scholarship) during baseball’s 2012 regular season to the Folds of Honor Foundation.
• 2012 Olympics: Budweiser is the official sponsor of Team USA during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games; in June, the brand will unveil a 16-ounce aluminum bottle with the Team USA logo.
• NASCAR: Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet, will spotlight a special Budweiser red, white and blue paint scheme for races at Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 27), Michigan International Speedway (June 17), Kentucky Speedway (June 30), Daytona International Speedway (July 7), Pocono Raceway (Aug. 5) and Watkins Glen International (Aug. 12).
• Flag Day Sampling: Budweiser wholesalers will hold sampling events for the brand in mid-June, including on Flag Day itself, June 14.

The summer program for Budweiser is a major expansion of a patriotic packaging initiative that had great success for the iconic brand last summer.
“Last year Budweiser had its best summer in many years with our special red, white and blue can as the catalyst during June,” McCarthy said. “We have expanded and improved this packaging this year.”

This super celebration will feature FREE live music from Start Making Sense: Talking Heads Tribute, Rough Francis, Myra Flynn, Casio Bastard, Steph Pappas and Seed. All those jams will indoubtedly make you quite thirsty, which is why we’re setting up an outdoor beer garden with several beers on tap, PLUS a special cask of Big Heavy Wheat, brewed specially for Heavyfest. We’re also breaking out the grill for some burgs, veggie burgs and dogs, with all proceeds going to Big Heavy World.

And later Saturday night, join us in downtown Burlington for the Heavyfest after party at Nectar’s! The show starts at 9pm sharp.

Feel free to RSVP here, or just show up with a smile and a thirst for fine craft beer and great music.

Big ups to our amazing sponsors in Heavy Fest II: Halogen Media Works, Shearer Chevrolet, Avalon Tent Company, Catalyst, Nectars, Advanced Music, The Buzz/WIZN, The Skinny Pancake and The Radiator.

Our brewery began as any great idea begins: a late-night conversation with family, friends and beer!  While enjoying some homebrews at the wedding of two of Boxcar’s chief members, we began talk of starting a micro-brewery in Pennsylvania. Within a year, Jason and his now-wife Kristen moved back to the West Chester area, where Jamie and Kymberly had been living, and began a rigorous cycle of brewing, sharing, and drinking 10-gallon batches of beer. Two years later, while enjoying a batch brewed for Jamie and Kymberly’s wedding, all four members got together and thought it was time to start Boxcar Brewing Company.

What were some of the biggest hurdles “going pro”?

For us, scaling up to a 310 gallon batch was difficult in many ways. Besides the obvious recipe changes, there were many things to consider: how to brew that much beer, where to store it, and where to sell it. Simple things like bottling 140 cases by hand seemed fairly easy on paper, but after six months of 12-hour bottling days, it was obvious we needed a “better way.” We also had consistency issues early with the Original Ale, our flagship, which is a delicate beer. All of the equipment in our brewery was repurposed from elsewhere. Our funds were limited so we had to get very creative with how we built our brewery. We ferment in dairy tanks, our boil kettle at one time mixed BBQ sauce, our newly found bottling machine was built in Philadelphia at Crown, Cork, and Seal in 1963. There were growing pains involved with adapting this equipment for use in a brewery, and adjustments had to be made.

Who is Boxcar?

Along with our four chief members – Jason and Kristen Kohser, James and Kymberly Robinson – Boxcar is a growing and changing family of volunteers, friends, relatives and beer enthusiasts. These people have given us the support to continue to grow this Community-Based Brewery.

What is a “Community-Based Brewery?”

Boxcar was founded on the idea that the community and the people around us will be an enormous part of our brewery. We host weekly Community Bottling Days, where volunteers come and spend one or two hours helping us bottle and talking about all things beer. We try to donate as often as possible to local charities and benefits. We recently started a C.S.B. (community-supported beer) program; these monthly one-off batches will be sold in very limited runs and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of these brews will go directly back to different local charities. We also host several “Ride the Rails” events along with the West Chester Railroad, a local non-profit, volunteer-run organization.

What is “Ride the Rails”?

“Ride the Rails” is a nostalgic trip down the West Chester Railroad line on passenger cars from days of old. We start the train in West Chester, Pa and take a 35-minute ride down the tracks to Glen Mills station. There we supply beer, BBQ and live music. After a few hours, we board the train and head back to WC. This event has sold out every time. We ran this event for Philly Beer Week last year and it was a great success and a ton of fun. We are currently planning this year’s Beer Week event for June 2nd. Tickets will be available on our website soon.

Where did the Name “Boxcar” come from?

Besides Jamie and Kristen’s love for hobos, Boxcar Brewing Company got its name from a long history of family members working on the Railroads. Kymberly and Jason (cousins) had and still have multiple family members working on trains.

What Beers are available from Boxcar?

• Original Ale 5% – our flagship brew is a crisp English mild with hints of citrus.
• Brown Ale 5% – medium-bodied brown with hints of cocoa and dried fruit.
• India Pale Ale 7.2% – deceptively sessionable IPA with tropical fruit overtones.
• C.S.B. Program – one-off batches with proceeds benefiting local charities

How can someone get involved with Boxcar?

We send out weekly updates via email about what’s happening with Boxcar; you can sign up at www.boxcarbrewingcompany.com. People are encouraged to join us for community bottling days or other volunteer work around the brewery or to help out with tastings and festivals. We also keep people informed on different events on Twitter (@boxcarbrewery) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/boxcarbeer). Or email us directly at friends@boxcarbrewingcompany.com.

When it comes to beer, this is the place to get authentic German styles on draft and in bottle: Warsteiner Premium Verum and Dunkel, Becks Oktoberfest and Konig Ludwig Weissbier are currently on draft, as well as some other fantastic authentic German brews like Hacker-Pschorr, Spaten and Paulaner. Thier passion for great Oktoberfest beer is very clear and Otto’s will be one of the few bars and restaurants to be offering a “Drei-Day Special.” (“Drei” means “three” in German)

Right now is the best time of year to visit Otto’s Brauhaus because they are having their annual celebration of Oktoberfest! Their tented biergarten seats approximately 200 people and they have a 12 piece Philadelphia Brass Band play on the weekends during the months of September and October. Every Sunday from 4:00 till 8:00, they offer their customers a traditional German buffet, complete with weiner schnitzel and saurbraten!

“In our constant evolution as a brewery, we’ve developed an undying drive to meld the organic and mechanical.  Perpetual IPA utilizes our hopback and dry-hopping to engineer a bold Imperial Pale Ale.  Straw in color and bittered with an abundance of citrus and spicy hops.  ’Perpetual IPA is a tribute to building our new brewery and our desire to continue exploring’, says John Trogner Brewmaster and Founder.”

In the “beer geek” community, this labeling of their beer as an “Imperial Pale Ale” has caused quite a bit of discussion.  This labeling blurs style guidelines and typical beer nomenclature as there really is no such thing as an “Imperial Pale Ale,” and yet here is an IPA that fits the bill stylistically.  Almost as if Tröegs was mocking the whole concept of rigid style guidelines, they chose to spell out their “IPA” and make their beer drinkers think about what, if anything, separates this from a Pale Ale, or American IPA, or even a Double IPA?  In the end, beer drinkers will throw up their hands and declare “Who cares?!?!  It’s beer.  Relax.  Don’t worry.”  (Intentional reference to Charlie Papazian)

For readers who don’t know what a hopback is, this is a device that is utilized between the brew kettle and the wort chiller.  The brewer adds hops at different intervals while their unfinished beer, known as wort (pronounced ‘wert’), is boiling in the kettle.  This stage in the brewing process is where beer gets its bitterness and hop aroma from.  However, as this liquid is boiling, the oils from the hops that contribute to aroma are largely boiled off.  Brewers who use a hopback are passing the hot wort through a filter and into an air-tight container filled with fresh hops, which give those volatile aroma oils nowhere to go but into the beer itself, and the liquid is then immediately sent to the wort chiller and cooled down on its way to the fermenter.

From the first moment you pour Tröegs’ Perpetual IPA, you can see the effectiveness of the hopback and dry-hopping process.  The foam on top of this beer is dense and has a creamy, almost froth-like texture that sticks all over the side of the glass, a good indication that this beer contains HOPS and a lot of them!  The aroma jumps out of the glass at you with big, bold citrusy smells and notes of tropical fruit.  There is a light malt sweetness here as well that backs up the hoppy aroma.  The expectation is something extremely bitter and over the top, but thankfully, Tröegs created a big beer without making it taste that way.  We have a soft textured body and a full malt profile that is well in balance with the exotic hop character.  This beer has created quite a bit of buzz ad it isn’t hard to see why.  The West Coast has always held the reigns when it comes to excessively hopped beers, but Tröegs is showing that it knows how to compete, and finally the East Coast is boasting a hoppy beer that the West Coast is talking about.

Brewers Specs:

Alcohol By Volume: 7.5%
International Bitterness Units: 85
Color: Straw to Golden
Malts: Pilsner, Crystal 80, Munich
Hops: Bravo, Chinook, Mt. Hood
Dry-Hops: Citra, Cascade, Nugget
Hopback Hops: Mt. Hood, Nugget
Yeast: House Ale Yeast
Ideal Serving Temp: 50-55°F
Glassware: Pint, Imperial Pint

Partly Sunny is categorized as a Witbier.  This style originated in Belgium, where brewers would create unique versions of wheat beers that would be lightly spiced to quench summer thirsts and act as aperitifs.  Common spices to add were coriander, citrus peel and zest.  At some point in time during the mid 20th century, this regional style fell out of popularity and there was a lack of Witbier in Belgium.  Then along came a man named Pierre Celis who resurrected the style in Hoegaarden, Belgium when he became Brewmaster at the local brewery.  Since then, Belgian-style Witbiers have regained their regional popularity and then some.  American brewers and consumers have openly embraced the Witbier for its refreshing qualities and light-bodied nature.

Ithaca brews Partly Sunny with 2-row barley, white wheat malt, acidulated malt, raw wheat and flaked wheat malt, and they hop the beer with the American classic, Cascade.  True to style, this beer is then spiced with coriander seeds and lemon and orange zest.  Partly Sunny weighs in at around 4.9% abv (alcohol by volume), which is light enough that one could enjoy a six-pack with a friend while sitting by the lake and not necessarily need a boat-ride home.  Partly Sunny pours out with a quickly developing head, rising up above the rim of the glass.  Through the hazy gold body, you can see the constant stream of carbonation bubbles rising up.  The beer smells lightly spiced, with the coriander showing through predominantly up front.  The wheat in the beer keeps the body very light and fluffy, and with the citrusy finish at the end, we have here a textbook Witbier that stays close to style and retains all of the drinkable qualities that we know and love.