Few brews say "summer" in Wisconsin quite like Summer Shandy (literally!) and this year, it's summer in January as the Chippewa Falls brewer brings back this popular beer earlier than ever.
In fact, you should be seeing the 4.2 percent silver-medal winning brew (at Great American Beer Festival, in the Fruit Wheat Beer category), in stores already.
The beer is a riff on an old Munich tradition.
"What we've learned through data is that Summer Shandy outperforms, in terms of rate of sale, many of the winter seasonals that are existing," says Leinenkugel’s President Tony Bugher.
"Summer is a state of mind. We're going to have it out there as early as we can."
Speaking of cans, that's how you'll obtain Summer Shandy these days, in 12-ounce cans.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
