Huntsville, AL –– We are saddened to report the Lost Highway Black Lager is officially lost – to New Jersey.
A homage to legendary Alabamian Hank Williams, a reflection of the actual highway running through the heart of this state, now belongs to a wine importer in New Jersey. And the federal trademark folks have ruled that wine is too similar to beer, there could be confusion between an Alabama six-pack and the importer of expensive wines, a ruling we did not anticipate when we first began to sell Lost Highway Black Lager in 2010.
We are sad to see the name go to New Jersey, to see this bit of Alabama imagery squandered. The malty black lager, inspired by German schwarzbier, is a beer we love, the third we ever brewed and the second we put into six-packs. The beer itself will continue.
This time we looked further back, to folk tradition and a Southern prison spiritual full of soul and pining, one so simple and so powerful scores of famous musicians have been keeping it alive for decades. We looked again for a name suggestive of a historic ride into a dark tide – a tide of malty black beer.
We’d like to introduce the Midnight Special Black Lager… Let the midnight special shine it’s everlovin’ light on me