Cozy Up This Holiday Season With a New Leinenkugel's Seasonal Brew – Fireside Nut Brown

-Maple aroma and pronounced chocolate, caramel and hazelnut top notes tempt the palate-

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (October 21, 2008) – The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company is rolling out a new seasonal brew just in time for the holidays. Starting in November the 141-year-old specialty brewer will add Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown to its portfolio of specialty craft beers.

The new seasonal beer harkens to a time when multiple generations of the Leinenkugel family would gather with friends and enjoy a special brew crafted especially for the holiday season.

While the star of this holiday seasonal is the roasted malt character, the well-balanced flavor and brilliant amber tones give Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown a comforting approachability that you don’t experience in traditional English-style nut browns. English two-row malts give this lager a maple aroma and pronounced chocolate, caramel and hazelnut top notes that dance around the palate before finishing gracefully.

Brewed in small, high-quality batches at Leinenkugel’s brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wis., Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown Lager is the perfect complement for holiday foods such as glazed hams, roasts, gravies, pies and pastries.

Fireside Nut Brown contains 4.9 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). It will be available during November and December where Leinenkugel’s is sold in 6, 12 and 24-pack bottles and on draft.

“Fireside Nut Brown is an adventurous yet classic flavor rounding out our family of year-round and seasonal beer offerings,” said Jake Leinenkugel, fifth generation brewer and president of the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company. “We’re excited to introduce our version of this English-style beer and hope to draw interest from our loyal fans and beer lovers in search of variety or new seasonals during the holiday season.”

Craft beer lovers should also keep an eye out for a new late winter / early spring seasonal - Leinenkugel's 1888 Bock - which will hit shelves and taps in January.

HOLIDAY RECIPES

Leinie’s Nut Brown Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:
• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped candied walnuts to top

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Place the potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for one hour or until tender.
3. Scoop the flesh into a bowl and discard the skins.
4. Add the beer, cream, olive oil, brown sugar, molasses, and salt and beat on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
5. Add chopped candied walnuts to top potatoes.
6. Cover to keep warm or reheat before serving.

Leinie’s Traditional Fireside Stuffing

Ingredients:
• 1 pound ground Italian sausage
• 1/2 cup minced carrots
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 2 large yellow onions, chopped
• 5 cups crumbled cornbread
• 5 cups seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 bottle of Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown
• 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon sage

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325° F.
2. Place Italian sausage, carrots, celery and onions in a large skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine sausage mixture with cornbread, bread crumbs, chicken broth, Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown, poultry seasoning and sage. Mix well and transfer to a 9x12-inch baking dish.
4. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes or until cooked through. Take off foil and brown another 10 minutes.

Craft a Quick Leinie’s Baste
To add a hint of maple, caramel and hazelnut to your turkey, pour one to two bottles of Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown over your turkey and then baste it with butter. The drippings are also ideal for adding a flavor shot to your gravy.

About Leinenkugel’s
Leinenkugel’s, brewed in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, is the leading craft brewer in the upper Midwest. Year-round offerings include Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat, Honey Weiss, Berry Weiss, Leinie’s Red, Creamy Dark, Original and Light. In addition to the new Fireside Nut Brown, Leinenkugel’s offers three other limited-release seasonal beers including summer favorite Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest and 1888 Bock (coming Jan. 2009). For more information on the rich history of Leinenkugel’s, visit www.leinie.com.

PHILADELPHIA’S “JOE SIXPACK,” DON RUSSELL, ANNOUNCES HIS SECOND BOOK, CHRISTMAS BEER

PHILADELPHIA, PA – This fall, Philadelphia Daily News beer columnist Don Russell, whose alter-ego, Joe Sixpack, is a renowned authority on the city’s brewing scene, will celebrate the release of his second book, Christmas Beers: The Cheeriest, Tastiest and Most Unusual Holiday Brews (Universe, 2008). It is the first comprehensive collection of information about the 2,000-year-old worldwide tradition of brewing and drinking festive ales and lagers during the winter holidays.

“I have had the privilege of traveling around the world in search of great beers,” says Russell, “and whether in Austria or Norway, crafting a strong drink to celebrate the winter solstice is a universal tradition. This book covers this lovely custom from its early origins to modern innovations. ‘Christmas beers’ are more of a tradition than Christmas itself, spanning a huge range of cultures and practices.”

At once informative and conversational, Russell’s Christmas Beer includes traditional libations brewed by pagans to celebrate the festival of Saturnalia alongside modern potables including Smuttynose’s “Winter Ale” and Schmaltz Brewery’s “He’brew Jewbelation.” Irreverent in tone and impressive in scope, Christmas Beer is a natural gift for beer lovers and a lighthearted but thorough exploration of holiday drinking culture.

“‘Winter Warmers’ are highly seasonal and also very regional,” says Russell. “In Christmas Beers, I’ve broken them down historically and regionally, and included plenty of fascinating anecdotes about the way they have evolved over the centuries.”

Christmas Beers ranks the “50 Best Christmas Beers,” with Harrisburg, PA brewery Troeg’s “Mad Elf” coming in number one; offers reviews of 150 plus Christmas brews; and provides home brewing recipes for ambitious readers who want to try their hand at the winter warmer brewing tradition. The book also shines a spotlight on cultural reactions to mixing Christmas and beer, examining how advertising has adapted to regulations forbidding the inclusion of children’s characters, such as Santa Claus, on beer labels. Beers that have been banned in some American states, including the English import “Santa’s Butt,” are also explored.

Russell himself has choreographed an event to celebrate the release of Christmas Beers. On Sunday December 7, he will host a Winter Warmers Tasting at West Philadelphia’s Armory (3205 Lancaster Avenue, 215-823-4850). As a component of the tasting, he will offer classroom-style instruction on the qualities of Christmas beers, information that is taught at only one other place in the country. Festive food will also be served; admission is $75. For more information on these events, please visit www.joesixpack.net.

Don Russell is one of America’s leading beer writers. His first book, Joe Sixpack’s Philly Beer Guide: A Reporter’s Notes on the Best Beer-Drinking City in America (Camino, 2007), enjoys tremendous popularity, and his Daily News column, “Joe Sixpack,” is one of that paper’s most-read features. He is also a weekly host on Glen Macnow’s “Midday Show” on Sports Radio 610 WIP Philadelphia. He is an avid world traveler, storyteller, beer drinker, and a founder of Philly Beer Week, an acclaimed celebration of beer culture in Philadelphia, now in its second year.

For more information on Don Russell, or to order a copy of Christmas Beers, please visit www.joesixpack.net.