Stewart’s Shops partners with Paradox Brewing to bring back Mountain Brew beer after a nearly 5-year hiatus
The familiar blue and silver can of Stewart’s Shops Mountain Brew beer is expected to be back on shelves by mid-February, this time with a new recipe and a bigger size.
Mountain Brew will now be produced in the Adirondacks by Paradox Brewing. The brewer hosted an event on Wednesday to celebrate the canning of its first batch of the 6% lager. The beer’s new recipe will be available in a 19.2 ounce can and will be sold as a two-pack for $4, as opposed to the original six-pack of 12-ounce cans sold for $2.99.
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The old Mountain Brew recipe — which was produced at Rochester’s Genesee Brewery — was focused on value, according to Chad Kiesow, Stewart’s Shops’ chief operating officer. Some people liked the flavor; others thought the beer tasted like “motor oil,” said Stewart’s public relations manager Robin Cooper. Cooper cited feedback on social media in response to an obituary for Mountain Brew that Stewart’s Shops posted in 2020.
“The Mountain Brew of the past, you either loved it, dealt with it, or hated it,” Kiesow said. “Everyone’s going to love the Paradox Mountain Brew.”
It’s been almost five years since Mountain Brew was last in stock at Stewart’s Shops. In September 2020, Stewart’s Shops announced that it would no longer be selling its decade-old beer brand due to slow sales, according to a Stewart’s spokesperson. The beer was moving slowly on valuable shelf space, possibly because of competition with White Claw and other seltzers, a decrease in sales due to the pandemic, or just limited interest in the beer.
Cooper said conversations about bringing the beer back started this past summer and a partnership with Paradox budded in the fall.
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The partnership between the brewery and Stewart’s Shops was natural, Kiesow said, considering Stewart’s and Paradox both support local agriculture. Stewart’s Shops works with around 20 to 25 farms to stock its milk and eggs; Paradox works with 17 to 20 farms. Plus, Cooper said, the Adirondack Mountains, where the beer is brewed, is “the heart of Stewart’s territory.”
“What we love about our milk is we’re going from the farm to our dairy plant — we’re in the shop within 48 hours,” Cooper said. “We can have that same quick turnaround here. Keep it fresh and local, but still have a decent price.”
Emily Close, the marketing manager from Paradox, explained that the brewery spent around six months perfecting the recipe, which takes 30 days to brew. Paradox’s canning line, which cans 90 beers a minute, was prepping 600 cases of 6,000 beers for Stewart’s shelves at Wednesday’s event.
Kiesow advised people to “get it while you can,” as there’s no guarantee on how long the beer will stay in stock. He said like other Stewart’s products, the customer chooses what stays based on their buying habits. Much like Stewart’s chocolate marshmallow ice cream, customers were asking for the beer to come back, Kiesow said.
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“It’s really just the Stewart’s model that we’re already doing,” Kiesow added. “We’re always rotating ice cream flavors, bringing those old ones back that people miss.”
But Kiesow thinks that this beer — which has a better taste, is made by a quality brewer and is offered at a great price, he said — will be a hit.
Though there is not a specific date yet for when Mountain Brew will be back at Stewart’s Shops, Kiesow estimates mid-February. Close said the goal is to have the beer on Stewart’s shelves before the Super Bowl.
“Customers are going to be excited,” Kiesow said. “From nostalgia, but also from a flavor and value standpoint.”
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