[dropcap]J[/dropcap]ust a few weeks before its 26th birthday, the Piton beer brand announced yet another tasty beverage added under its belt. The official media launch on Wednesday followed a series of inexplicit invitations as Windward & Leeward Brewery Limited clearly meant it to be a grand surprise. However, the new brew, Piton Gold, was already being sold quietly on the local markets since WLBL’s sampling period during the 2018 Carnival season.
Piton Gold is bottled similar to its mother brand Piton beer but instead labeled with the refined colours of black and gold as opposed to Piton beer’s more fun blue and yellow. As brand manager, Sylvester Henry, announced, “Piton Gold will make you stand out of the crowd.” The beer was described as “contemporary and cutting edge” by him and some other guests at the media launch confessed that it tasted even better than the original Piton. Since it first appeared on the market in October 1992, Piton has been internationally recognized and marketed as equally unique to Saint Lucia as the World Heritage Site it’s named after. Just four months after being launched the beer won it’s first international award setting Piton’s standards high from the start.
But what makes Piton Gold different? Henry said, “It’s a little bit more masculine. It contains a little bit more alcohol than normal beer.” (But from a highly feminine perspective, Piton Gold could be quite the lady’s drink too.) Piton Gold contains 6.5% alcohol and according to Henry it’s now one of the strongest beers on the market competing only with Guinness. The beer still has close roots to the blueprint, Henry said, “Piton Gold is brewed with the same fine quality that has made Piton Beer the number one brand in the country, that has also made Piton Beer an international award-winning brand.”
Piton currently has Piton Malta and four flavours of Piton Shandy. In 2013 the brand also produced Piton Radler for a limited time. As for the reasons behind the recent extension of Piton Gold, Henry said, “We think that the beer market at this time is right because persons are looking for various tastes and we wanted to offer a good alternative to our very popular beer, Piton.”
The future of this fresh flavour, WLBL assumes will be bright and long. Henry announced finally, “Piton Gold is here, and it’s here to stay. It’s not going to be a limited edition.”
