Now THIS Is A Summer Beer

Man, people get their panties all in a wad about anything nowadays it seems. Take this beer for instance. It's called Nude Beach Summer Wheat and it's from Stevens Point Brewery in Stevens Point, Wisc. The label is actually banned in Michigan. Oh well, more publicity for them I guess. Personally I think it's pretty cool. For the name and label alone, I need to add it to my 10 most wanted list. Summer, beer and nude are 3 words I like to see together. And the brewmasters last name is Zappa even. Am I dreaming?


STEVENS POINT, Wis., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat is back for a second summer with new markets and new packaging.

Stevens Point Brewery has expanded the popular unfiltered wheat ale into new markets in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri and added a new 12-pack long-neck bottle package to meet consumer demand, according to Joe Martino, Stevens Point Brewery Managing Partner.

"We also doubled production for this summer," Martino said. "After we rolled out Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat last year, it quickly became the Stevens Point Brewery's most successful new-product introduction ever," Martino added. "With the addition of the new 12-pack and selling to new markets this year, we expect to Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat to become our biggest volume seasonal beer by far."

Last May Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat was introduced in 6-packs and kegs in the Stevens Point Brewery's core Midwest markets - except in Michigan where the beer is available only on draft. Michigan's Liquor Control Commission deemed the beer's colorful label discreetly depicting a nude-beach scene to be "detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the general public."

The beer also generated publicity due to inquiries from organizations like the American Association for Nude Recreation, whose members were intrigued by the name and label. Beer experts applauded it, too: Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat earned a silver medal in the Beverage Testing Institute's 2008 World Beer Championships.

"Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat is a refreshing, thirst-quenching ale perfect for the beach or any other summer activity that calls for a cold beer. What you wear - or don't wear - when you enjoy Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat is up to you," Martino said.

Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat's unique recipe calls for two varieties of wheat - 'au naturel' unmalted white wheat and malted red wheat - along with specialty barley malts, fresh hops from Washington State's Yakima Valley and the Stevens Point Brewery's own special ale yeast. "The unmalted raw wheat gives the beer body and a distinctive wheat flavor while the red wheat adds a subtle sweetness," said Stevens Point Brewery Brewmaster John Zappa.

SOURCE: Stevens Point Brewery