Press release
Hot on the heels of the popular Straits Pale Ale, Singapore-based Lion Brewery Co has a new addition for its portfolio: Island Lager, released this week.
This meets a growing consumer demand in Singapore for premium lager. According to Euromonitor International, from 2013-2018 the consumption of imported premium lager increased by 23.9%, compared with just 7.1% for the lager category. Growth for the next five years, 2019-2023, is expected to stay high at 19.5% for imported lagers, versus only 7% for the lager market as a whole.
As a craft beer, Island Lager classes as ‘ultra-premium’, with its small batch brewing techniques, high-grade ingredients, and non-pasteurisation process. However, Island Lager reaches for a category of its own – a new-age lager, dry hopped for a more unique and enjoyable flavour.
“We’ve found an increasing appetite from our customers for a lager with more depth than the commercial ones on offer, but just as enjoyable and easy-to-drink”, said Will Julius, Co-Founder and General Manager.
“We wanted to design a lager that was both familiar and out of the ordinary”, adds co-founder Harry Renshaw. “When you have a sip, you know it’s a lager, but then it brings a delicious hoppy bite and tropical aroma that sets it apart. Taste and quality are our core principals.”
Lion’s beers – currently the inaugural Straits Pale Ale and the Island Lager – are specially designed to be crisp, refreshing and “sessionable”, with the hot South East Asian climate in mind. They use a careful selection of high-quality ingredients, have light carbonation, a moderate alcohol content (4.5% and 4.7%, respectively), and are unpasteurised to preserve the flavor, as well as retain the healthy yeasts and enzymes. No chemicals or additives are used.
From here, the new brew has a few key differences:
- Hops: Island Lager uses two different hop varieties: Hallertau Blanc, and dryhopped Simcoe, delivering notes of passion fruit, pine and creamsicle.
- Length of fermentation: Lagers ferment for much longer than pale ales.
- Filtration: It is coarse-filtered, giving it the signature clarity of a lager and a golden colour.
Lion Brewery Co is already available via their website, Redmart and over 60 outlets across Singapore, including bars, hotels and craft beer shops.