James Squire Swindler has been reconfigured

James Squire has refined one of its top selling beers to further appeal to the growing number of Australians embracing aromatic styles of pale ale.

The Swindler Summer Ale was quickly embraced by drinkers when it first launched in 2015, soon becoming one of the top three tap brands in the James Squire range behind The Chancer Golden Ale and 150 Lashes Pale Ale.

The beer also enjoyed competitive success on the world stage, picking up a coveted Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup in 2016.

But the Malt Shovel team nevertheless decided there was room for improvement, releasing a new version in time for summer.

“The brewers felt they could make it even better so started tweaking with the hops,” explained Lion general manager – craft, Gordon Treanor.

“There’s a growth emerging of a subset of pale ales that are lighter and highly aromatic so we felt like the beer could be even better if we tweaked the recipe.

“We also took the opportunity to make some subtle changes to the packaging, changing the colour to give more refreshment cues,” he said.

The hop bill is now comprised of El Dorado and Galaxy, the latter of which replaces Calypso, maximising the beer’s tropical and fruity aromas such as passionfruit and melon.

James Squire Swindler is now labelled as a Tropical Pale Ale

The Swindler is now labelled as a Tropical Pale Ale, reflecting the dialling up of the beer’s aromatic hop profile.

Treanor said the new name also evokes the legendary tale of the brand’s namesake James Squire swindling his way out of a cramped berth on the First Fleet and onto the ‘Women’s Ship’ for the remainder of his tropical journey to Australia.

He said The Swindler Tropical Pale Ale also emphasises the beer’s suitability for year-round drinking, after it proved highly seasonal when it was labelled as a Summer Ale.

“Some of our customers and consumers were confused thinking it was a summer limited release or they removed it, certainly from taps, when the season changed to autumn,” said Treanor.

James Squire The Swindler Tropical Pale Ale is now available at James Squire Brewhouses across the country and all good craft beer retailers.