Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat Ale Returns

(STEVENS POINT, WI) – It’s not quite summer yet, but if you have a passion for summer beers, you’re in luck: Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat Ale, now brewed with passion fruit, is now available through the end of the summer wherever Point beers are sold.

Point Brewmaster Gabe Hopkins and his team of brewers have added passion fruit juice to Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat’s brewing process, which uses unmalted white wheat and malted red wheat as well as specialty barley malts, fresh Mount Hood hops from Washington State’s Yakima Valley and Point’s own ale yeast.

Passion fruit, a climbing vine with small, round fruits that thrives in the Caribbean and South America, is a true flavor point-of-difference for the Nude Beach Summer Wheat, according to Hopkins. “The passion fruit lends a crisp but very refreshing, tart character to the beer that is especially noticeable on the back end,” he said. “The fresh tartness of the passion fruit pairs well with the natural fruity tones of an unfiltered wheat beer.”

Golden-colored Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat is available in six-packs and 12-packs of 12-ounce NR bottles, 12-packs of 12-ounce cans, 4-packs of 16-ounce cans and on draft wherever Point’s handcrafted beers are sold.

With the new passion fruit accent, Point Brewery Operating Partner Joe Martino expects Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat Ale will be more popular than ever this summer. Introduced just before summer 2008, Nude Beach Summer Wheat Ale was one of Point’s most successful new-product introductions.

As Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat Ale’s popularity grew so did its trophy case, which now includes twelve medals. In 2013 it earned gold as the best beer in the American Wheat category in the annual United States Open Beer Championships. Nude Beach also won a gold medal in 2009 at the annual North American Beer Awards, sponsored by the North American Brewers Association, and silver medals in the 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012 World Beer Championships, sponsored by the Chicago-based Beverage Testing Institute.

“Discerning craft beer lovers can taste for themselves the difference that passion fruit brings to the beer’s refreshment experience. It’s a great reason for wheat beer fans to connect with Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat Ale,” Martino said.

Stevens Point Brewery, founded in 1857, uses only the highest-grade barley malts, specialty malts, grains and the choicest hops to brew its handcrafted beers, including flagship Point Special Lager, which won the gold medal in the American Premium Lager category at the 2003 Great American Beer Festival.

The brewery’s year-round lineup features Point Onyx Black Ale, a robust dark ale; Point Belgian White, a Belgian-style wheat ale; Point Cascade Pale Ale, an American-style pale ale; Point Drop Dead Blonde Ale, a 110 calorie ale; Point Amber Classic, an American-style amber lager; and Point Beyond the Pale IPA, a robust, hoppy India Pale Ale.

Point also brews four year-round IPAs available only in the IPA variety 12-pack: Point Spruce Tip IPA, Point Peach Mango IPA, Point White IPA and Point One Shot IPA.

In addition to Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat Ale, the brewery’s seasonal products include new spring seasonal Apricadabra Apricot Wheat Ale; a summer refresher Point Coast Radler, a thirst quenching mix of beer and natural citrus flavors back for a second summer; Point Oktoberfest, a Bavarian-style Märzen beer for the fall; and Point St. Benedict’s Winter Ale, a rich, dark beer available from November through February.

Whole Hog Limited Edition of “big beers” include Whole Hog Espresso Stout, Whole Hog Six-Hop India Pale Ale and Whole Hog Scotch Ale. Whole Hog seasonal portfolio includes Whole Hog Barley Wine, Whole Hog Russian Imperial Stout, and Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale.

Point also brews three unique James Page specialty beers sold only in convenient 12-ounce cans: A Cappella Gluten-free Pale Ale, Casper White Stout, and Yabba Dhaba Chai Tea Porter.

Gourmet soft drinks from the Stevens Point Brewery include Point Premium Root Beer, Point Premium Diet Root Beer, Point Premium Orange Cream, Point Premium Vanilla Cream, Point Kitty Cocktail and Point Premium Black Cherry Cream Soda.

For more information about the Stevens Point Brewery, please visit pointbeer.com or call 1-800-369-4911. Tours of the brewery are available; schedules are listed on the website.