MILWAUKEE -- Pabst Brewing Co. launched its first craft beer on March 1, about eight months after the company announced intentions to brew "new" craft beers inspired by recipes from the Pabst archives.
The first release is Old Tankard Ale, which the company said capitalizes on growing interest by beer drinkers in American ales. Over the past five years, sales of American ales have grown 197%, according to Nielsen data.
Old Tankard was originally launched 79 years ago and uses "the original brewer's log recipe from 1937." It "will be sure to satisfy today's craft-centric millennial consumer," the company said. It contains 5.8% alcohol by volume and measures 35 international bitterness units (IBUs).
The beer is rolling out in 16-ounce single-serve cans and four-packs of 16-ounce cans.
Pabst first entered the craft-beer business through a distribution agreement with Small Town Brewery, the maker of the hard soda Not Your Father's Root Beer.
In July 2015, the Los Angeles-based company announced it would open a new brewery in Milwaukee on the site of the original Pabst Brewery, which was founded in 1844. The brewery will serve as Pabst’s hub for innovation and new product ideas, including craft beers inspired by recipes from the Pabst archives.
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