Taste of Mexico

Heineken USA released its limited-edition Beers of Mexico variety pack in 12- and 24-pack options. The variety pack contains equal quantities of Dos Equis Lager, Dos Equis Ambar, Tecate and Sol and allows consumers to enjoy the wide variety of styles and flavors within Heineken USA’s Mexican beer portfolio. The 24-pack was available last year, and Heineken USA added the 12-pack option to allow for broader retail distribution, it notes.

Canned collaboration

Boulder Beer Co. released its summer seasonal Hoopla Pale Ale in six-packs of 12-ounce cans. Hoopla Ale was created last year through a collaboration by the Colorado-based Boulder Beer brewers and homebrewer and musician Kyle Hollingsworth of the band String Cheese Incident. This year’s introduction of cans allows the beer to be incorporated into outdoor activities, the company says. Hoopla Ale cans include a quick-response code that consumers are able to scan for free music downloads from Hollingsworth and information on Hoopla Ale. As with last year, the beer also is available in 22-ounce bottles and on draft.

Freeze and squeeze

Diageo USA introduced new varieties of Parrot Bay and Smirnoff frozen malt beverage pouches. Ready to serve from the freezer, the varieties include the following: Parrot Bay Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri, Frozen Mango Daiquiri and Frozen Piña Colada as well as Smirnoff Frozen Strawberry Lemonade, Frozen Blue Raspberry Lemonade and Frozen Cherry Limeade. The company recommends freezing each 10-ounce pouch overnight, then squeezing the package into a cup or glass for serving.

Expansion opportunity

Karl Strauss Brewing Co. released its Windansea Wheat beer in bottles for the first time earlier this summer. Until now, the company was not able to bottle the popular beer because of a lack of space at its San Diego brewery, it says. With the recent brewery expansion and addition of several new 240-barrel fermentation tanks, Karl Strauss now has enough capacity to brew the Bavarian hefeweizen year-round and package it in 12-ounce bottles, the company notes.

Single-serve swap

Bronco Wine Co. switched the packaging material for its 187-ml. single-serve bottles of wine from glass to lightweight PET bottles from Amcor Rigid Plastics. The adoption of PET was made to improve penetration of its Crane Lake, Red Truck, Coastal Ridge, Hacienda, Harlow Ridge and Forestville brands at retail and on airlines, including Delta Air Lines, United Air Lines and Southwest Airlines, the company says. The bottles utilize barrier-coating technology developed by Germany’s KHS Plasmax GmbH to protect the contents from oxidation and extended shelf-life. Bronco invested in new filling equipment for 187-ml. bottles to be able to expand within the high-growth, single-serving wine market, it says.