Lagunitas Brewing partners with Buffalo Wild Wings on new beer

Lagunitas Brewing Co. of Petaluma has partnered with Buffalo Wild Wings for a new, lower-alcoholic beer for its sports-loving customers who want a less potent brew.

Fandom Ale is available for a limited time at all the Buffalo Wild Wings locations across the country, including the one in Petaluma. The Minneapolis-based chain has more than 1,200 restaurants across North America and claims to serve more draft beer than any other restaurant in the country.

Fandom Ale is a mix of wheat beer and pale ale with a citrus aroma. It has alcohol by volume of 5.5 percent, which is less than some of its hoppier India pale ale beers. A review at the BeerAdvocate website says it “smells of citrus, hops, sweet malt and a hint of alcohol. Fits the style of an American Pale Ale.”

Todd Kronebusch, vice president of guest innovation at Buffalo Wild Wings, said in a statement that Fandom was “designed with the sports fan in mind.”

Fandom is the 39th beer in Lagunitas’ “Fusion” series, in which it works with retailers, distributors and even home brewers for a limited release series served typically on draft, said Karen Hamilton, communications director for Lagunitas.

“Generally, it’s a group of people who come to our breweries or brew with our brewers,” Hamilton said.

Lagunitas has done such releases for San Francisco Beer Week, Bottlerock music festival and its CouchTrippin music shows, though the new release with Buffalo Wild Wings will have a more extensive reach and be available in every state.

Like other Fusion series beers, Fandom will also be available at certain bars that have a Lagunitas account so it doesn’t run afoul of state and federal “tied-house” laws, which prohibit brewers from exerting undue influence over retailers.

Fusion is different than the “One Hitter” experimental series that Lagunitas brewers create for a limited release. Those beers allow Lagunitas, which is primarily known for its IPA and its Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale, an American pale wheat ale, to show off its creativity even as it has become the 10th largest brewer in America.

Previous beers in the One Hitter series include an imperial coffee stout, an ale made with Gravenstein apple juice, and a rye cocoa porter.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.