Kurt Zellers
Whoops. Regarding the proposed excise tax increase on beer, representative Kurt Zellers drew some grief at home for this quote:
“To say that it’s only seven cents a beer, that’s like promising a case of Summit to the party and showing up with that bathwater called Leinenkugel’s,” and went on to say “It’s not a fair deal at all. Good Minnesota beer for Wisconsin bathwater, no sir.”
When he returned to the house, he came with an apology. Apparently his wife is quite a fan of Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy.
“The little joke I played last night got me in trouble at home last night. So most importantly, my apologies to the Leinenkugel family. They are a great family-owned business. But as it usually goes at our house, ‘I’m sorry, honey.”
Of course Leinenkugel’s is owned by SABMiller. And while I wouldn’t call their beer “bathwater,” Summit would be preferred in my world. My suggestion? Someone should send his wife a case of Schell’s Shocked Radler and be done with it.
As I understood it, SABmiller has 49% share in Leinenkugel’s. Not sure I’d say they’re owned by SABmiller exactly.
Hi Tyler. Though Jake Leinenkugel is very much a part of the company, Leinenkugel’s is a wholly owned subsidiary of SABMiller.
Their Big Eddy series beers are pretty darn good…
Leinie’s can make good beer when they try, like the Big Eddy series and the old Northwoods Lager. Funny thing – they experimented with that back in the early 2000’s. They presented Big Eddy Imperial IPA at the now-defunct Milwaukee Beer Fest for public opinion. It was the most amazing thing Leinie’s had ever produced. And unfortunately, what they are marketing today as Big Eddy Imperial IPA is a poor substitute for the original recipe. They seem to have that habit – take a good beer (like Leinie’s Red) and dumb it down. But I am getting off topic….