Donnie Iris's cool new beer is hot.
Sales of King Cool Limited, the new light beer taste-tested and endorsed by local rock legend Donnie Iris and his band The Cruisers, has exceeded all expectations, selling briskly since the beer's introduction at Diesel in the South Side on Nov. 20.
King Cool Limited is only available in Pittsburgh through participating distributors, a list that's growing by the day.
The beer was named for the rocker's nickname and second album,
King Cool.
"It caught all of us off guard," says Gary Medved, COO of King Cool Limited. "We've sold in one month what we thought we'd sell in a year. We're struggling to keep up with demand."
The idea to back a beer came about in the summer of 2008 when The Cruisers were traveling to a gig in Kittanning. If Iris, who also owns a successful real estate mortgage business, was going to put his name on anything, it most definitely was going to be a beer and it was going to be light.
"As far as we were concerned, Pittsburgh was ripe for something different and local," says Iris, a longtime resident of Beaver Falls. "There's a void here that we're trying to fill. It just made sense."
Iris insists he was looking for a particular taste, something light that didn't taste lite, with depth and flavor. King Cool, at 122 calories, is a caramel malt that compares to Sam Adams or Yuengling lights, he says.
It's brewed and bottled in Wilkes Barre, PA, at least for now.
"We're starting in Pittsburgh and, if it keeps up, we'll move it out across the state," says Medved.
JR's Beer Warehouse in Rochester and Duffy's in Pleasant Hills will hold an autograph signing session on Dec. 19. A few pub crawls and guest bartending stints are planned as well.
Where 2 find it.Writer:
Deb SmitSource: Donnie Iris, Gary Medved, King Cool Limited
Photo of Donnie Iris courtesy of Steven JohnsonSign up to receive Pop City each week.