There’s nothing new about the pint bottle being used for craft beer. To the best of my recollection, Little Creatures was one of the first to launch beers in the 568ml bottle and the move has since been taken up by a host of craft breweries. However, the use of pint bottles under the Friendship Pint moniker is a clever use by Lion-owned the Malt Shovel Brewery, tying nicely into the concept that this sized bottle is well-suited to sharing.

Of course, the name also ties back into the James Squire brand in another way, with the real James Squire arriving in the penal colony aboard the ship Friendship. While I have written in the past about the sometimes spurious connection between Australia’s first brewer and the modern brewery bearing his name, there is no doubting the consistency that the marketers at Lion have achieved with the James Squire brand. While they have no real connection with the historical character, they have still managed to consistently and accurately tell his story…while CUB has consistently managed to get itsown brands’ real historieswrong. But we’ll have more on CUB’s troubled relationship with its own history soon.

In the meantime, we will be releasing a Radio Brews News podcast featuring Chuck Hahn as a guest in which he talks a little about the new Friendship Pint. Watch out for it later today (or tomorrow). [MK]

Media Release

James Squire launches new Friendship Pints

New 568ml bottles commemorate first voyage to Australia

June 2013 – The James Squire story will add another chapter this month with the launch of new 586ml Friendship Pints.

The James Squire Friendship Pints mark the very beginning of the James Squire story. It was back in April 1787, that he was released from Southwark Gaol on the convict ship ‘Friendship’, bound for the British penal colony of Australia.

To commemorate this milestone in Australian beer culture, the James Squire Friendship Pint, based on an authentic imperial measure, will be available in three different varieties, including Nine Tales Amber Ale, The Chancer Golden Ale and One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale.

“In the true spirit of James Squire, we wanted to create beers that could be easily shared amongst mates,” said Lion Head of Craft, Brett Grebert.

“The idea of sharing a beer whilst telling a good story is deeply entrenched in Australian culture and the new James Squire Friendship Pints are a testament to this,” said Grebert.

The new James Squire Friendship Pints are now available nationally.