Bigger bottles...

We recently began packaging Sue in 750 ml (25.4 oz) bottles, starting with the batch that is hitting the shelves this week.  Why, and why now?

Well, when we first began bottling Sue, we were limited by our old bottling line (the infamous Meheen) to only one size bottle we could run.  So, we came out with Sue in our four-pack Brewmaster's Reserve.  We also were using that Brewmaster's Reserve 4-pack for our seasonals, but since in TN high-alc beer is sold in separate stores from regular beer, having two different beers in the same 4-packs was not a problem.  However, as we branched out into Alabama, and recently in Mississippi - states where all beer is sold in the same stores -  we couldn't keep putting two different beers into the Brewmaster's Reserve packs.

After seeing the great reception we got from our Fortuitous in the 750's, I decided to purchase the changeover parts so that our new bottling line could be set up for bigger bottles.  With the bigger bottles, which will be sold individually, we won't have to come up with a new 4-pack carton every time we want to bring out a new limited release.  The 4-packs are expensive and the minimums runs are large.  Now, we can simply get a label done and run with it.  So our regular seasonal beers, like the Rye Saison, will continue to be in the 4-packs, but our high-alc beers and limited releases will be in the bigger bottles.

So we are excited about the bigger bottles!  We will be able to do a lot more limited releases, without sinking a ton of resources into packaging.  Sue will be a regular in the big bottles, and we plan on releasing some of this year's Bells Bend Preservation Ale, a fresh hop ale brewed with hops grown right down the road at Sulphur Creek Farm in Bells Bend, in the 750's later on this fall.