FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
AWARD-WINNING AUGSBURGER BEER RETURNS TO CHICAGO!
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (October 7, 2003) - Augsburger Golden, winner of the gold medal for Münchner-style Helles beers at the 2003 Great American Beer Festival, and Augsburger Dark Bier are returning to the Chicago market this week.
Once brewed in Chicago by the Monarch Brewery, Augsburger Golden and Augsburger Dark Bier are Bavarian-style all-malt beers brewed under license by Wisconsin's Stevens Point Brewery.
Union Beverage Co., a beer, wine and liquor wholesaler based on Chicago's South Side, distributes the Augsburger brands to bars, restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores and liquor stores in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. Augsburger Golden is available in 6-packs and 12-packs of longneck bottles and on draft, and Augsburger Dark Bier is sold on draft and in 6-packs of longneck bottles. Downloadable Augsburger packaging graphics are available at
"We are excited to make Augsburger available again to Chicago beer lovers," said Joe Martino, managing partner of Stevens Point Brewery, which started brewing Augsburger under license to the Pabst Brewing Co. in August. "In the 1980s, Chicago was Augsburger's largest market. Our all-malt Augsburger Golden and Augsburger Dark have received a great response from beer lovers and retailers in Wisconsin, and we know Chicagoans will enjoy them, too."
COLORFUL HISTORY The Augsburger brand, known by the nickname "Augie," has a long and colorful history. It was originally brewed at Chicago's long-closed Monarch Brewery, founded in the 1950s by a former associate of Al Capone. After the Monarch Brewery closed, Augsburger went to Wisconsin's former Potosi Brewing Co., then to the Joseph Huber Brewing Co. in Monroe, Wis., where it enjoyed its widest distribution and greatest success. Owner Fred Huber sold the Huber brewery in 1987 and the Augsburger brand ended up at Detroit's Stroh Brewery Co. Pabst later acquired the rights to Augsburger from Stroh in 1999.
ALL-MALT RECIPE The Stevens Point Brewery recipe for Augsburger "is better than ever," said Stevens Point Brewmaster John Zappa. "We use an all-malt recipe with Hallertau hops imported from Germany to brew a flavorful, well-balanced German-style lager." German-style beers use only barley malt, hops, yeast and water - no brewing adjuncts like corn syrup or rice, which are typically used to brew America's big mass-produced lagers.
The new, improved Augsburger Golden received the ultimate stamp of approval September 27 at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver when the annual festival's panel of expert judges awarded it the gold medal in the Münchner-style Helles category. Münchner Helles is a style of lager beer that originated in Munich, Bavaria. Münchner-style Helles beers are characterized by a pale golden color and a pronounced malty flavor with a distinctive hop character. More than 2,000 beers from nearly 400 American breweries were entered in this year's Great American Beer Festival, which awards gold, silver and bronze medals in different beer-style categories.
Chicago beer writer Bob Skilnik, author of "The History of Beer and Brewing in Chicago," is pleased with the return of Augsburger to the Windy City. "This all-malt rendition of one of Chicagoland's favorite beers during the 1970s is back and better than ever with a slightly sweet and malty richness, typical of a golden-colored Munich-style beer," he said. "Welcome back 'Augie!'"
STEVENS POINT BREWERY Founded in 1857, Stevens Point Brewery is one of the oldest breweries in the United States. During the 1920s and '30s, the brewery was one of the few breweries to make it through Prohibition by producing near-beer products and soft drinks.
The Stevens Point Brewery uses special blends of the highest-grade barley, malts, grains and the choicest hops to make their handcrafted beers. In addition to Augsburger Golden and Augsburger Dark Bier, its brands include: Point Special Lager, which won the gold medal in the American Premium Lager category at the 2003 Great American Beer Festival, Point Classic Amber, Point Honey Light, Point White Biere, Point Spring Bock and Point Premium Root Beer.
For more information about the Stevens Point Brewery, visit
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