T.W. Pitchers’ Launches Beer / Cider Blend – Snake Bite

From W.G. Barr Beverage Co:

San Francisco, CA – W.G. Barr Beverage Company, a new Bay Area startup, today announced the release of T.W. Pitchers’ Snake Bite, a bottled blend of beer and apple cider based on a popular British pub-mixed drink.

Wilson Barr and Tommy Hester, the founders of W.G. Barr Beverage Company, met at Williams College in 2007, where they were teammates on the Varsity baseball team. While at school, they found a shared interest in the burgeoning craft beer industry and began hatching plans to start their own beverage company. However, it wasn’t until Barr studied abroad and visited Great Britain that the friends’ concept started gaining traction.

“During my time in the U.K., I saw people at pubs ordering round after round of this mixture of lager and cider called Snake Bite,” says Barr. “It was flavorful, crisp, and really easy to drink. I quickly realized Snake Bite had the potential to be a successful beverage in the United States.”

Two years later, after crafting a business plan and spending many late nights taste testing, Barr and Hester are launching T.W. Pitchers’ Snake Bite, a new version of that British pub favorite bottled for the first time. Although their drink has just been introduced to bars and stores in the San Francisco Bay Area, the partners think Snake Bite can become a mainstay in Northern California and beyond.

“Our product is unique and one of the first beer cocktails on the market,” explains Hester. “We fill an exciting new niche in the industry.”

“Snake Bite will appeal to a wide range of people,” Barr adds. “Our blend lets you taste the characteristics of both the lager and the cider, making Snake Bite simultaneously balanced, refreshing, and very drinkable.”

Barr and Hester are introducing Snake Bite at a time when there has been substantial growth in the hard cider market. In 2012, U.S. hard cider sales grew 65 percent compared to the previous year and many industry experts believe growth will continue as new and innovative products like Snake Bite are introduced.