here's a link to the article, but if you don't want to click on Pennlive, here's the text:
Soon, the beer adorned by images of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno will be judged the same as all others. The outside of the can will honor a Nittany Lion legend, but the taste of the Vienna-style lager contained inside will ultimately carry the product beyond its projected release the third week of August.
The Paterno Legacy Series lager is being produced by Duquesne Brewing Company, a once-defunct brand rejuvenated by Pittsburgh-area attorney Mark Dudash in 2010, through a joint venture with the Paterno family. The Paterno brew is best described as a red lager with no aftertaste, according to Dudash.
"Basically, it's a red lager with a mild caramel taste, very smooth," Dudash said. "We used 100 percent two-row barley. It gives you a really smooth taste with no aftertaste on your tongue.
"It's smooth as silk. It's not going to be overly hopped, but it's going to have a mild bite to it, just enough. It's going to be a very, very drinkable beer that you can just enjoy."
The price point for the Paterno Series lager is a moving target and could vary from store to store, according to George Bradley, general manager of Westy's in Camp Hill, which was picked as the brand's wholesaler in the midstate. The beer will be available in 12-packs of 12-ounce cans at the Westy's location for somewhere in the $12-14 range, Bradley said, but could fluctuate at other locations.
"The thing that's hard about it is," Bradley said, "I can control what we do in our store, but by the time it hits other retailers, others might up-charge for it as a collectible. You never really know."
A year-long venture between the Duquesne Brewing Company and the Paternos is coming to fruition in just a few short weeks. The two sides had to work through government red tape and intellectual property issues to reach the verge of distributions, in addition to fine-tuning what Bradley, a Penn State graduate, called "a completely new formula."
Dudash last summer pitched the idea to the Paternos, who agreed to a pact with a charitable component, Jay Paterno said. The charity will be picked by Sue Paterno if or when the brew begins to generate proceeds. Westy's will also donate a portion of its proceeds to the same charity.
But while the fight continues to restore Joe Paterno's legacy after his dismissal from Penn State as part of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the beer isn't part of a grand public relations strategy, even if it puts the coach's accomplishments literally in the palms of beer drinkers' hands.
"They wanted to honor him," Jay Paterno said. "That was really something they brought to us. It's certainly going to be fun to be involved with. If people learn something about him, great.
"Since they approached us a year go, a lot has changed in a year with the narrative. Mark is not a Penn State guy. He's a Notre Dame fan. He's not Penn State crazy. He's not Joe Paterno crazy. He lived in the state state and understood the impact Joe had. That's where it came from."
If there was concern of any backlash, it didn't take long to disappear, to the point where Dudash has been stunned by the product's early success. The expectation was to sell out an initial run of 500 barrels by late September, but through pre-sales alone, over 2,800 barrels have already been sold without even venturing into Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.
"Jay and I are looking at that number and starting to laugh," Dudash said.
The level of demand has expanded product offerings into half and one-sixth kegs, which means the Paterno lager will pop up in local watering holes, too. While the can design has been released to the public, art for tap handles is still in development, Dudash said.
"I've never seen anything like this, and I've been in the beer industry long time," Dudash said. "It just doesn't happen this easy. Something special is in the making. I just said to Jay, 'There's a guardian angel up in heaven somewhere.' What's going on right now, it just doesn't happen. This thing is crazy."
Of course, the sustainability of the product will come back to taste. The point will come when the novelty wears off and all that's left is the product. Dudash and Jay Paterno are realistic about the expectations, but still eyeing a run of success that lasts well beyond the fall.
"It's one of those things, there's no beer that everybody likes no matter what," Jay Paterno said. "We're not going to satisfy everybody."
"We want to build a brand," Dudash added. "We're not a one-and-done."
Soon, the beer adorned by images of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno will be judged the same as all others. The outside of the can will honor a Nittany Lion legend, but the taste of the Vienna-style lager contained inside will ultimately carry the product beyond its projected release the third week of August.
The Paterno Legacy Series lager is being produced by Duquesne Brewing Company, a once-defunct brand rejuvenated by Pittsburgh-area attorney Mark Dudash in 2010, through a joint venture with the Paterno family. The Paterno brew is best described as a red lager with no aftertaste, according to Dudash.
"Basically, it's a red lager with a mild caramel taste, very smooth," Dudash said. "We used 100 percent two-row barley. It gives you a really smooth taste with no aftertaste on your tongue.
"It's smooth as silk. It's not going to be overly hopped, but it's going to have a mild bite to it, just enough. It's going to be a very, very drinkable beer that you can just enjoy."
The price point for the Paterno Series lager is a moving target and could vary from store to store, according to George Bradley, general manager of Westy's in Camp Hill, which was picked as the brand's wholesaler in the midstate. The beer will be available in 12-packs of 12-ounce cans at the Westy's location for somewhere in the $12-14 range, Bradley said, but could fluctuate at other locations.
"The thing that's hard about it is," Bradley said, "I can control what we do in our store, but by the time it hits other retailers, others might up-charge for it as a collectible. You never really know."
A year-long venture between the Duquesne Brewing Company and the Paternos is coming to fruition in just a few short weeks. The two sides had to work through government red tape and intellectual property issues to reach the verge of distributions, in addition to fine-tuning what Bradley, a Penn State graduate, called "a completely new formula."
Dudash last summer pitched the idea to the Paternos, who agreed to a pact with a charitable component, Jay Paterno said. The charity will be picked by Sue Paterno if or when the brew begins to generate proceeds. Westy's will also donate a portion of its proceeds to the same charity.
But while the fight continues to restore Joe Paterno's legacy after his dismissal from Penn State as part of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the beer isn't part of a grand public relations strategy, even if it puts the coach's accomplishments literally in the palms of beer drinkers' hands.
"They wanted to honor him," Jay Paterno said. "That was really something they brought to us. It's certainly going to be fun to be involved with. If people learn something about him, great.
"Since they approached us a year go, a lot has changed in a year with the narrative. Mark is not a Penn State guy. He's a Notre Dame fan. He's not Penn State crazy. He's not Joe Paterno crazy. He lived in the state state and understood the impact Joe had. That's where it came from."
If there was concern of any backlash, it didn't take long to disappear, to the point where Dudash has been stunned by the product's early success. The expectation was to sell out an initial run of 500 barrels by late September, but through pre-sales alone, over 2,800 barrels have already been sold without even venturing into Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.
"Jay and I are looking at that number and starting to laugh," Dudash said.
The level of demand has expanded product offerings into half and one-sixth kegs, which means the Paterno lager will pop up in local watering holes, too. While the can design has been released to the public, art for tap handles is still in development, Dudash said.
"I've never seen anything like this, and I've been in the beer industry long time," Dudash said. "It just doesn't happen this easy. Something special is in the making. I just said to Jay, 'There's a guardian angel up in heaven somewhere.' What's going on right now, it just doesn't happen. This thing is crazy."
Of course, the sustainability of the product will come back to taste. The point will come when the novelty wears off and all that's left is the product. Dudash and Jay Paterno are realistic about the expectations, but still eyeing a run of success that lasts well beyond the fall.
"It's one of those things, there's no beer that everybody likes no matter what," Jay Paterno said. "We're not going to satisfy everybody."
"We want to build a brand," Dudash added. "We're not a one-and-done."
