The winner of the Boston Beer Co.’s fifth annual Samuel Adams Beer Lover’s Choice contest, Noble Pils, will join the brand’s lineup as the spring seasonal beer. The beer uses five varieties of Noble Hops, which are the top varieties of hops available, the company said, in a statement. Noble Pils was the chosen winner of the company’s Beer Lover’s Choice program with 55 percent of the 68,000 total votes, and replaces White Ale as the spring seasonal offering. Samuel Adams Noble Pils will be available nationwide.
The North American Coffee Partnership, a joint venture between Starbucks Corp. and Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages, introduced Seattle’s Best Coffee ready-to-drink iced latte coffee drinks. Inspired by the lattes served in Seattle’s Best cafes, the drinks are available in Iced Latte, Iced Vanilla Latte and Iced Mocha flavors. The line will launch in the Western United States in major grocery, convenience and other retail stores.
Mighty Leaf Tea launched Organic Berry Wellness, a tea formulated with vitamins and minerals to support the health of those undergoing breast cancer treatments. The tea contains apples, goji berries, blueberries, elderberries, cranberries and strawberries. The herbal, caffeine-free blend also is made with ginger and cinnamon ingredients. A portion of Organic Berry Wellness proceeds will benefit Art for Recovery at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, a center at the University of California San Francisco that offers basic science, clinical research, epidemiology and patient care programs. The product is available in 4-ounce packages of loose leaf tea at mightleaf.com for $11.95.
Starbucks Coffee Co. expanded its packaged coffee portfolio in the grocery, drug and mass retailer channels. The company now offers 5-ounce and 20-ounce coffee packages in addition to the current 12-ounce sizes. Most of the coffee packages will include an ongoing offer redeemable at participating Starbucks stores for a complimentary Tall brewed coffee when customers bring in their empty bag, the company says. The 5-ounce size retails for $4.29 and is available in House Blend, Colombia and Caffe Verona varieties, and the 20-ounce value pack retails for $12.99 and is offered in House Blend, Breakfast Blend and French Roast.
Evian Natural Spring Water partnered with fashion designer Paul Smith to create the Limited Edition 2010 Evian bottle. The bottle is designed in vibrant colors with a festive theme and a nod to the Paul Smith stripes, the company says. Limited Edition 2010 is the third annual designer Evian bottle. The tradition began in 2008 with a limited edition bottle designed by Christian Lacroix, followed in 2009 with Jean Paul Gaultier. A 750-ml. bottle retails for $13.95.
Honest Tea introduced Honest Kombucha, a new line of ready-to-drink organic kombucha drinks with probiotic cultures. Honest Kombucha is brewed with Fair Trade certified organic tea and organic cane sugar. The 16-ounce wide-mouth glass bottles are available in Berry Hibiscus, Lemon Ginger and Peach Mango varieties. A bottle retails between $3.39 and $3.49.
Total Beverage Solution will import Affligem Noel, a Belgian Abbey Holiday Ale, to the United States. Affligem Noel is 9 percent alcohol by volume and is available in a 750-ml. cork-finished bottle. It is made from malted barley, water, hops, starch, sugar and spices. A bottle retails for $7.99.
Bigelow Tea added four herbal teas with probiotics, omega 3s and vitamins. The Herb Plus teas are available in Pomegranate Blueberry Herb Plus, Cranberry & Ginseng Herb Plus, Wild Blueberry Acai Herb Plus and Lemon Ginger Herb Plus varieties. Pomegranate Blueberry Herb Plus contains omega 3 DHA; Lemon Ginger Herb Plus has probiotic GanedenBC30; Cranberry & Ginseng Herb Plus combines choline and B vitamins; and Wild Blueberry Acai Herb Plus blends wild blueberry, hibiscus, rosehips and grape seed extract.
SwingJuice developed a low-sodium hybrid energy drink of the same name. SwingJuice Energy Drink is available in Fruit Punch, Pomegranate Berry, Orange Mango, Lemonade, Sugar Free Pink Lemonade and Diet Lemon Ice Tea varieties. The flavors contain gingko biloba, ginseng, taurine, caffeine, niacin and vitamins D, B12 and B6. A bottle retails for $1.49.
Alacer Corp. added three shot products under the Emergen-C brand. Emergen-C Health & Energy Booster, Emergen-C Immune+ System Booster and Emergen-C Alert! Energy & Focus Booster. Emergen-C Immune+ and Emergen-C Alert! are packaged in 2.5-ounce shot containers as well as flavored fizzy drink mix packets. Emergen-C Alert! contains green tea extract and vitamin B12. Emergen-C Immune+ provides 1,000 mgs. of vitamin C, prebiotics and zinc. Emergen-C Health & Energy Booster carries vitamins C and B, electrolytes and antioxidants.