Cloud Catcher is an Australian Pale Ale, first brewed in 2014 to celebrate the opening of Stone & Wood Brewing Co’s larger brewery in Murwillumbah and, after a couple of appearances as a limited-release beer, has been available permanently in 500ml bottles and kegs with limited distribution owing to capacity constraints.
Stone & Wood founder Jamie Cook says, ‘With the recent completion of another expansion project at Murwillumbah we now have new capacity coming online, which will mean we are able to let the handbrake off our gold-medal-winning Australian Pale Ale and release it in 330ml bottles and keg. Pale Ale continues to grow and is still the biggest segment within IRI-defined ‘craft’ market, representing more than half of it. The wider rollout of Cloud Catcher represents our first serious step into that part of the beer market.’
The new Cloud Catcher packaging is the first Stone & Wood product to adopt the IBA’s Certified Independent seal (the seal means that the beer isn’t a former independent that’s now been bought out by a multinational), and as the largest member of the IBA they we will continue to roll it out across the rest of their range in the coming months.
Stone & Wood Brewing Co continues to grow in what is an exciting and dynamic time within the Australian beer market, with sales volumes growing another 20 per cent in the year ending June 2018. As the engine room of the business, Stone & Wood Pacific Ale is still in strong growth as the originator of what is now the summer ale / tropical ale segment.
‘Our continued growth is made possible by the great support we get from our suppliers, customers, drinkers and local communities. We continue to sell 50 per cent of our beer within three hours of the brewery and it is the support of our local communities from Coffs Harbour to Noosa that provides us with the confidence to continue investing in the region,’ says Jamie Cook.
The beer will now be available in keg and 330ml bottles. They have upped the hops and reduced the ABV to five per cent and passed on those excise savings by reducing their price to be inline with their other core beers.
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