Sun King Brewing today announced a minor change to its house beer lineup. The company said Bitter Druid ESB would move to from a year-round offering and become a semi-annual specialty beer.
“All of the ‘house’ beers have been growing at an exponential rate except for ESB,” said Director of Communications Neal Taflinger.
Taflinger said the brewery made only 200 barrels of Bitter Druid in 2011, representing just two percent of Sun King’s total production.
“Most of our sales came from the tasting room,” he said. “We only had about four draught accounts (of 300) that carried it.”
Taflinger said that with the addition of more fermentation space, the beer may reappear when there is free time in the brewing schedule.
Below is the official announcement from Sun King Brewing.
Bitter Druid ESB is no longer going to be a part of Sun King’s house beer lineup. As we have grown, the demand for all of our beers – house, seasonal and specialty – has grown as well, with the exception of Bitter Druid ESB.
We know that there is a die-hard group of people who love the Bitter Druid and this doesn’t mean that we don’t still believe that it’s a great beer or that we’re going to stop making it. However, in order to devote the necessary time, energy and tank space to crafting everything else, we have removed Bitter Druid from the house beer lineup and it will become a semi-annual specialty beer.
Fans of Bitter Druid ESB will still be able to purchase it in growlers and bars/restaurants will be able to purchase kegs when it becomes available. We hope you understand the need for this change and we thank you for your continued support!