AC Golden’s Juicy IPA Pack Heralds New Era for Craft Brewery

From MolsonCoors & Alex Parker:

The proof’s in the juice.    zzubreebym

It’s barely been five months since AC Golden Brewing Company released its first-ever year-round IPA variety pack, which features three beers packed with citrus flavor the big-hop aroma craft drinkers crave.

That 12-pack – dubbed the Juicy IPA Pack – already is Colorado’s third-best-selling IPA variety pack, IRI data show.

“It’s been exciting to see it take off,” says Jeff Cornell, AC Golden’s general manager, “These are on-trend beers, and we know there’s a lot of runway in the hazy-juicy IPA space.”

The introduction of the Juicy IPA Pack marks a departure for the 15-year-old brewery, a flex of its creative muscles in an effort to find new avenues to growth within Colorado, the only state where its beers are sold.

It’s venturing beyond the beers it’s known for, such as its flagship Colorado Native, a brand made with all Colorado ingredients, and a slew of German-inspired beers it brews on behalf of Coors, such as Batch 19, Barmen Pilsner and Herman Joseph’s Private Reserve.

“The Colorado Native portfolio will always have its place as our flagship, but one of our main goals in launching new, on trend products like the Juicy IPA pack gives us a chance to introduce ourselves as who we really are – AC Golden Brewing Company,” Cornell says.

The Juicy IPA Pack, which has eclipsed sales of Colorado Native’s Day Pack, features three juice bombs: All the Juice, a tropical IPA clocking in at 6.5% ABV; Orange Haze, a 7.3% ABV hazy IPA built on orange and tangerine flavor; and Sneaky 8, a citrusy, hop-forward 8% double IPA.

“We did our homework. We knew we wanted to be approachable, and we thought calling attention to the flavor versus the haze was the best approach,” he says.

IPAs continue to be the biggest subsegment in craft beer, and so-called juicy beers are on the leading edge of that growth. AC Golden’s Juicy variety pack aims to promote its beers’ juicy flavor in a way that’s attractive to hopheads and novice craft drinkers alike, he says.

The strategy seems to be working, and Cornell says the variety pack is set for even wider distribution within Colorado in the next few months. It’s just landed in King Soopers, the state’s largest grocery chain, and he expects more chains that currently carry it to expand their offerings during spring resets.

And with a plan to put Sneaky 8 in 19.2-ounce cans, AC Golden’s looking to capture convenience store customers, as well.

“If you don’t have a player in 19.2s, you’re missing out. AC Golden isn’t going to miss out,” he says.

The entry into a new IPA archetype is part of what’s been an eventful year for AC Golden, which was founded in 2007 in a corner of the massive Molson Coors brewery in Golden, Colo., where it remains today. It’s got hits on its hands with Colorado Native Palisade Peach Tart ale and Colorado Native Sundown Cerveza, a Mexican lager brewed for the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. And it’s introducing more drinkers to the brand at the AC Golden Tank Room, an airy pub in Denver’s trendy new McGregor Square.

What excites Cornell most is that AC Golden is now putting on a show for a wider audience. The so-called skunkworks – a brewery within a brewery – was often charged with developing specialty beers that never left the Golden facility. That’s changing.

“We’ve been making some really cool beers for a long time, but now we get to share them with the public,” Cornell says.

It’s all part of a reinvention that aims to bring new flavors to Colorado drinkers while keeping a foot in its history and tradition.

“We’re not walking away from our history. This is more of a new dimension for us, where we’re taking that brewing credibility we’ve earned and starting to show people what we can really do,” Cornell says. “There aren’t that many breweries that, at age 15, get to reinvent themselves by leaning into who they’ve always been.”

The proof’s in the juice.

It’s barely been five months since AC Golden Brewing Company released its first-ever year-round IPA variety pack, which features three beers packed with citrus flavor the big-hop aroma craft drinkers crave.

That 12-pack – dubbed the Juicy IPA Pack – already is Colorado’s third-best-selling IPA variety pack, IRI data show.

“It’s been exciting to see it take off,” says Jeff Cornell, AC Golden’s general manager, “These are on-trend beers, and we know there’s a lot of runway in the hazy-juicy IPA space.”

The introduction of the Juicy IPA Pack marks a departure for the 15-year-old brewery, a flex of its creative muscles in an effort to find new avenues to growth within Colorado, the only state where its beers are sold.

It’s venturing beyond the beers it’s known for, such as its flagship Colorado Native, a brand made with all Colorado ingredients, and a slew of German-inspired beers it brews on behalf of Coors, such as Batch 19, Barmen Pilsner and Herman Joseph’s Private Reserve.

“The Colorado Native portfolio will always have its place as our flagship, but one of our main goals in launching new, on trend products like the Juicy IPA pack gives us a chance to introduce ourselves as who we really are – AC Golden Brewing Company,” Cornell says.

The Juicy IPA Pack, which has eclipsed sales of Colorado Native’s Day Pack, features three juice bombs: All the Juice, a tropical IPA clocking in at 6.5% ABV; Orange Haze, a 7.3% ABV hazy IPA built on orange and tangerine flavor; and Sneaky 8, a citrusy, hop-forward 8% double IPA. “We did our homework. We knew we wanted to be approachable, and we thought calling attention to the flavor versus the haze was the best approach,” he says.

IPAs continue to be the biggest subsegment in craft beer, and so-called juicy beers are on the leading edge of that growth. AC Golden’s Juicy variety pack aims to promote its beers’ juicy flavor in a way that’s attractive to hopheads and novice craft drinkers alike, he says.

The strategy seems to be working, and Cornell says the variety pack is set for even wider distribution within Colorado in the next few months. It’s just landed in King Soopers, the state’s largest grocery chain, and he expects more chains that currently carry it to expand their offerings during spring resets.

And with a plan to put Sneaky 8 in 19.2-ounce cans, AC Golden’s looking to capture convenience store customers, as well.

“If you don’t have a player in 19.2s, you’re missing out. AC Golden isn’t going to miss out,” he says.

The entry into a new IPA archetype is part of what’s been an eventful year for AC Golden, which was founded in 2008 in a corner of the massive Molson Coors brewery in Golden, Colo., where it remains today. It’s got hits on its hands with Colorado Native Palisade Peach Tart ale and Colorado Native Sundown Cerveza, a Mexican lager brewed for the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. And it’s introducing more drinkers to the brand at the AC Golden Tank Room, an airy pub in Denver’s trendy new McGregor Square.

What excites Cornell most is that AC Golden is now putting on a show for a wider audience. The so-called skunkworks – a brewery within a brewery – was often charged with developing specialty beers that never left the Golden facility. That’s changing.

“We’ve been making some really cool beers for a long time, but now we get to share them with the public,” Cornell says.

It’s all part of a reinvention that aims to bring new flavors to Colorado drinkers while keeping a foot in its history and tradition.

“We’re not walking away from our history. This is more of a new dimension for us, where we’re taking that brewing credibility we’ve earned and starting to show people what we can really do,” Cornell says. “There aren’t that many breweries that, at age 15, get to reinvent themselves by leaning into who they’ve always been.”