Leinenkugel’s goes nationwide

Lager is based on founder’s recipe

The original beer once sold only in two states now offered in all

For the first time in its 150year history, Chippewa Fallsbased Leinenkugel Brewing Co. says, the original beer that launched its brand will be distributed nationwide.

Leinenkugel’s Original, a lager offered in Wisconsin and Minnesota, has been rolled out to all 50 states, the company said Thursday.

Colloquially known as “Leinie’s,” the lager is modeled after founder Jacob Leinenkugel’s 1867 recipe brewed with pale malts, a proprietary yeast strain and a single hop. The beer is brewed only at the company’s Chippewa Falls brewery.

“As far as we know, it’s the original recipe,” Dick Leinenkugel, the great-great grandson of Jacob Leinenkugel, said in a blog on the MillerCoors website.

The beer was continuously brewed until Prohibition, then resurrected upon its repeal. In the 1950s, the beer’s name was changed to simply “Leinenkugel’s,” and later took on “Leinenkugel’s Original” as the brewery’s portfolio expanded.

Most of the beer has been sold in Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota.

Leinenkugel is part of Chicago-based MillerCoors Brewing Co.

MillerCoors’ strategy includes an increasing number of higher-priced brands in what it calls the “above premium portfolio.”

With Leinenkugel celebrating its 150th anniversary, it seemed like an appropriate time to distribute the company’s original beer nationwide, MillerCoors said in an email.

No expansion of the Chippewa Falls brewery will be necessary, according to MillerCoors.

Nationwide, the beer will be available only in Leinenkugel “Fall Explorer Packs.” It is available in standalone packs in select areas of the Great Lakes states.