St. Louis-based High Heel Brewing, a new craft beer company founded by master brewer Kristi McGuire, announced the introduction of a line of craft beers specifically aimed at female craft beer consumers. The company, which produces its beers in partnership with St. Louis-based Brew Hub, plans to introduce Slingback, a perry ale, and Too Hop'd to Handle, an American IPA, this summer. High Heel's beers will be brewed at Brew Hub's brewery in Lakeland, Fla., and distributed throughout Florida by Republic National Distributing Co., it adds.

"It's incredibly exciting to launch High Heel Brewing and introduce our first two beers," McGuire said in a statement. "Our goal was to fill a gap in the market and to celebrate women in brewing and all women who love craft beer. It has been a dream come true to collaborate with the women of Brew Hub, and this launch would not have been possible without them."

Slingback is a hybrid beer brewed by combining the taste of traditional ale with pear cider. The 5.4 percent alcohol-by-volume (ABV) beer includes natural passion fruit juice, Hallertauer hops and subtle spicing with chamomile and elderflower, and is slightly more carbonated than most ales, the company says.

"With Slingback we created an entirely new style of beer, hitting that sweet spot between ale and cider," said McGuire. "It's the Prosecco of beers — perfect for the hot summer days to come."

On the other end of the spectrum, Too Hop'd to Handle is a bold American IPA assertively hopped with Columbus, Mosaic and Simcoe varieties and brewed with Munich and honey malts for a toasted flavor, the company says. Belgian candied sugar adds balance to the 8.5 ABV beer, giving it a smooth finish, it adds. To reflect seasonal flavors and trends, a rotating fourth hop varietal will be added to both the kettle and dry hops, with Calypso hops used as the fourth hop for the beer’s initial launch.

"The growth of IPAs has been compelling, and we expect hop-forward beers to continue to flourish," said McGuire. "Craft beer consumers are looking for new flavors and styles of IPA, and we feel Too Hop'd to Handle is going to stand out in the crowd of pale ales. We brewed the beer with several varieties of hops that normally aren't used together. The result is a bold, confident IPA we think women will love."

Slingback and Too Hop'd to Handle initially will be available in 12-ounce glass bottle four-packs throughout Florida and also will be available on draft at Brew Hub's tasting room in Lakeland, Fla.