Lipton Hard Ice Tea, brewed at Genesee, launches in New York

New lineup of flavored malt beverages fits snuggly into Genny's existing portfolio. (And I am wildly excited to give these a shot.)

An exciting (and timely) new product line produced right here in Rochester will finally be available in our local market.

Lipton Hard Ice Tea, brewed with real Lipton tea and brewed at the Genesee Brewery campus on St. Paul Street, is available all around New York state now, the brewery announced Thursday in a press release.

To commemorate the launch, Lipton is hosting a series of summer solstice parties across the country, including a few in the Rochester area. JD Oxford’s on Monroe Avenue, MicGinny’s on the River, and Silk O’Loughlin’s in Summerville are among the designated party spots this weekend.

For a full list of gatherings, click here.

Anyone who has been following this newsletter for any length of time knows that I am a massive fan of Cinderlands Beer’s Cindi’s Hard Mountain Tea. (We featured it earlier this month at the Rochester Real Beer Expo.) In explaining why I love it, I’ve told people that Cindi’s tastes just like Lipton Brisk (now just known as Brisk apparently). So that’s why I am especially excited to check these out.

(And my wife texted me during my lunch hour right now and told me a wonderful member of the Genny sales team just dropped off a 12-pack. So we all know what I’m gonna be ripping into after work tonight. Reviews to follow.)

Lipton Hard Ice Tea features five flavors: Lemon, Peach, Strawberry, Half & Half, and Citrus Green Tea. I am definitely most excited about the Peach and the Citrus Green Tea. Brand director Lisa Texido trumpeted the work of the Genny brewing team that has “done a fantastic job using real Lipton tea to perfect the taste and quality that Lipton fans have always enjoyed.”

“Lipton brings 130 years of beverage excellence that comes through in every sip of our hard tea, and we’re ecstatic that it’s now available to consumers across New York state!” said Lisa Texido, brand director, Lipton Hard Iced Tea. “Our teams have done a fantastic job using real Lipton tea to perfect the taste and quality that Lipton fans have always enjoyed!” 

This new product fits snuggly into Genny’s existing flavored malt beverage portfolio, which already includes the wildly successful Seagram’s Escapes and a lineup of contract brewed beverages (IYKYK).

I hope to explore Genny’s evolution in a future newsletter. It’s pretty cool how the state’s oldest brewery has continued to innovate, invest, and evolve in this uncertain times for most breweries. Previously, Genny confirmed that Seagram’s was the biggest product produced there, both in terms of volume and sales. And recently, the brewery’s parent company, FIFCO USA, announced it would invest $50 million investment to modernize and upgrade the brewery’s packaging capabilities. In total, Genny has seen $215 million invested on the campus since 2017 to upgrade the brewhouse, packaging lines, and malt beverage production.