Brewery makes ale ‘exclusively’ for grocery chain

Brewery makes ale ‘exclusively’ for grocery chain

Courtesy SpartanNash

A Michigan brewery is kicking off summer with a beer brewed “exclusively” for a locally based grocery chain.

Bryon Center-based SpartanNash said last month that Bellaire, Michigan-based Short’s Brewing Company has released its Lemon-Hop Stand, an India-style cream ale, for SpartanNash.

Lemon-Hop Stand will be available at Family Fare Supermarkets, D&W Fresh Market, VG’s and Forest Hills Foods.

The supply is limited to 1,200 six-packs.

The beer “captures the essence of a cream ale, while having a noticeably hoppy bitterness in the finish,” said Jon Wojtowicz, national accounts manager, Short's Brewing Company.

“It’s clean, but with just the right amount of lemon to complement the bitter hop qualities,” Wojtowicz said.

He added that the beer also “captures the two big trending styles right now: light craft beers and of course, IPAs.”

The product's label was developed by Short’s and SpartanNash.

“As a Michigan-based company for more than 100 years, we wanted to team up with another local company to create this one-of-a-kind beer,” said Larry Pierce, EVP of merchandising and marketing, SpartanNash.