Lime Life is officially a Summer Seasonal!

Green Bench recently added a citrusy, zesty summer seasonal to the lineup - LIME LIFE! A zippy sibling to core brew Bench Life, Lime Life introduces all-natural lime extract and citric acid to the conversation which lends a bright, summery, sunshiney flavor to an already refreshing light lager. 

It’s not often that Green Bench introduces a new seasonal brand to the catalog and I wasn’t sure of the process, so I went to three of our department heads - Khristopher Johnson, founding brewer and co-owner; Coleman Berra, sales director; Micki Bell, director of marketing and communications - to learn more about the process. 

Joan Hoffmann (JH): First of all, why Lime Life? Why not an IPA, Pale Ale, Hoppy Wheat, etc.? Green Bench has obviously gotten lager-focused more recently - especially since incorporating decoction into the process - and I'm wondering if that's why the latest addition to the seasonal lineup went the way of the lager.

Khristopher Johnson (KJ): Over the years we've had, and continue to have, many releases everywhere on the calendar. Our first "summertime" release was an in-house favorite, DeSoto Low Micro-IPA. In addition, this summer we're releasing seven different hop-forward products. To that end, hops have always been a big part of our DNA, so it made sense that the next summer sipper should focus elsewhere, and one of our favorite things to drink during these Florida heaters is a can of Bench Life with a lime wedge or two squeezed into it. Why not share that experience with everyone! Without having our bar staff have to cut limes, that is…

JH: When exactly was the last time we added a new seasonal and what was it? 

KJ: Before Lime Life, our most recent addition to the seasonal lineup was Festbier. I believe that was three years ago. However, this year it was our goal to add Happy Hermit to the seasonal releases, but there were technical issues with that packaging.

JH: Is there a certain way to prepare distributors for a change like this?

Cole Berra (CB): We work hand-in-hand with both our distribution partners and retail partners to coordinate releases. We meet with all distributors and retailers toward the end of the year where we share our plans for the next year, and receive their feedback. Lime Life was very well received by everyone we spoke to. We’re very excited to see how the market reacts to it.

JH: And what about our global audience?

Micki Bell (MB): I would say, introducing Lime Life to our global audience started over a year ago when we made the first batch for draft and Tasting Room only. A big part of any brand is its origin story. This beer’s origin story starts with an already well-known core brand of ours, Bench Life.  After many requests from staff (Lo, mainly), Khris added lime. We knew people would love it, and they did. This makes its introduction an easy/fun transition. We got to do a little teaser and tell the story behind the beer last summer by slapping a green piece of tape over the word Bench to say Lime on our tap handle. That story was posted on social media and folks responded with excitement. Why wouldn’t they? It’s an already favorite beer with a summer twist. I remember discussions early on about it possibly joining the seasonal rotation. Once that was decided, a marketing plan was executed to bring it to (lime) life. Working with our designer to ensure packaging aligns with our existing core and seasonal options while giving it its own identity through color selection is a big part of the first phase. Creating sales materials, photos, and social media scheduling soon followed. At Green Bench, we like to tell an organic story of the brewery and the brand, keeping things pretty simple. The plan was to slide Lime Life right into the line-up like it had been and will be there forever. 

JH: What was the process of working with the brewers to get the flavor “right”? What did we learn from last year?

KJ: The process is pretty straight forward. Our goal is to make beer that tastes great. So naturally, we use sensory [analysis] to determine if the levels of flavoring and citric in Lime Life were where we wanted them. Now, this isn't a one-and-done process. Once the products are added and tasted, they need to be assessed in many different environments. For example, every glass we pour it in will taste different; before and after carbonation will taste different; once it's been settled in a keg or can it will taste different; drinking 0.3L compared to 0.5L is a completely different experience; and what does it taste like hanging out in a pool vs sitting in my home watching The Rays lead the AL East? All of these experiences must be considered before we feel as if we have a good balance that creates the best enjoyment across all of the scenarios possible.

JH: In years past, has adding a seasonal been a similar process to Lime Life? (Debuting it a year before, workshopping the flavor, waiting for guest feedback, tweaking, re-releasing) Did Lime Life go into distribution last year?

KJ: Every beer is treated a little bit differently because how you produce each beer is different. All of our beers change often. In fact, Sunshine City IPA was first called May the Fort Be With You - a one-off IPA that I made based on many of the beers that I had in Portland, OR. Skyway Hazy DIPA was one of the recipes that I developed in our Testing series of DIPAs, with the goal of finding the hop combination that we enjoyed the most. And Bench Life was developed alongside our trials for 4-Seam American Lager, an in-season official beer that we produced with The Rays. For Lime Life I was testing some random flavorings from an all natural flavor company that took me over a year to find. They were suggested to me by a fellow brewer in NC after having a few conversations about their use with flavorings. There was no goal in mind, other than to get the juices flowing and taste different things. I requested many samples and one of them was Lime. I would add a drop of each flavor to the bottom of a glass and pour Bench Life Premium Lager over it to assess how it would be perceived. I used Bench Life because it's the most neutral product that we have, and would allow the flavoring to shine the best. The Lime flavoring reminded me of squeezing a lime in a can and so I would randomly do this for my drinking pleasure for about two years. During that time, I shared the flavored products with our staff and the Lime flavored Bench Life was easily all of our favorites, so much so that many of the staff asked me to make a bigger batch. While I always wanted to try it out, the brand and concept was never really fleshed out well enough to make the jump, but last year I was interested and had some extra brewing space, so we decided to make it happen. 

JH: Is there a possibility for a fifth core beer?

KJ: Our lineup will always evolve. When we started our core brands were Green Bench IPA and Maximo Milk Stout. But because of the regulations with the TTB at the time concerning Formula Approval and approved ingredients, we shifted Maximo to Stay Dry Stout. Soon after we introduced Skyway Wheat into the lineup but that just didn't work in the market at all, so we added Happy Hermit Pale Ale. Then, Green Bench IPA fell off as Sunshine City IPA took over, and we then introduced Postcard Pils, so our lineup then became Sunshine City IPA, Happy Hermit Pale Ale, and Postcard Pils. Eventually we added Bench Life Premium Lager, and lastly we introduced Skyway Hazy DIPA. It would not suprise me in the least if we end up with a 5th core one day, but what that beer is will depend on what we think our lineup and production is missing and how we can fill in that gap.

MB: From a marketing standpoint, I would like to see Lime Life remain a summer seasonal because we have Bench Life to enjoy 365 days a year. I want people to get excited when this beer debuts each year as the temperatures rise, the beaches get less crowded for locals to enjoy, and folks are looking for the perfect summer crusher…because that’s exactly what it is.

CB: I echo Micki’s words on this. Seasonals are a great platform to see what works and what doesn’t in the market as it gives the beer room to grow its own roots, while still remaining exciting every year when it comes out.

And there you have it, folks. Lime Life is available on draft and in six packs in the Green Bench tasting room now.