Iron Jack

Lion has launched Legendary Brewing Co., a new trade mark that has initially spawned a mid-strength beer called Iron Jack.

Iron Jack is “a mid-strength, modern Australian lager inspired by long held Australian values such as loyalty, strength and mateship”, Lion said in a statement.

The clear bottle, lifestyle beer appears to be a challenger for CUB’s Great Northern Super Crisp, the success of which has not been lost on Lion, which has long had the mid-strength market leader in XXXX Gold.

“Probably the fastest growing beer brand in the country at the moment is a beer called Great Northern Super Crisp from CUB, and they’ve contemporised mid-strength even further,” Lion MD James Brindley said in March 2016.

According to Lion, Iron Jack has been brewed with Australia’s hot, rugged climate in mind.

“Give it a whiff and you’ll pick up a little bit of hop aroma – give it a gulp and you’ll see the bitterness has been kept low to deliver maximum, thirst-crushing refreshment,” the brewer’s statement says.

Lion brand director Jack Mesley said the story of Iron Jack is inspired by fabled Australian outdoorsmen, known for telling their mates a tall tale around a warm camp fire with a cold beer.

“We know drinkers want to buy brands that resonate with their own values or inspire them in some way. We want to encourage Aussie men to get out and explore the great outdoors, have an adventure and create stories that will build their own personal legend,” he said.

The story of Iron Jack is inspired by fabled Australian outdoorsmen,

Under the beer’s bottle tops will be the latitude and longitude coordinates for 100 remote camping, fishing and 4WD-ing locations, as well as some classic Aussie pubs.

“Iron Jack is the first chapter of The Legendary Brewing Co, a trade mark that was created to celebrate Australian culture and the sharing of stories over a beer,” Mesley said.

“As brewers, we’ve also had some legendary stories told from some of the best known breweries around – Castlemaine, Tooheys, Boag’s and West End. We hope there are many more chapters to come.”

Iron Jack’s launch will be supported through a multi-channel advertising campaign, ongoing content and influencer activity, event activations and sponsorship, on and off premise activity as well as social media and PR.

It will be available in 330ml bottles, 375ml cans and on tap from September 4.