Earlier this week, Nectar Ales announced that it will revert to its original brewery name, Humboldt Brewing Company. The name change nods to the brewery’s start in 1987 in Humboldt County, Calif., before it was acquired by Firestone Walker Brewing Company in June 2005 and then again acquired by Total Beverage Solution in July 2012.
“We really wanted to embrace the Humboldt spirit by reverting back to the original name of the brewery,” said Courtney Gibson, the social media manager of Total Beverage Solution. “It was more of us here going back to our roots.”
To coincide with the name change, the brewery has introduced a new limited-release beer and redesigned its packaging. The limited-release beer is called 500 B.C. Double IPA and will be available later this month in 22 oz. bottles. The beer’s name is a tribute to Humboldt County’s redwood trees, which are some of the oldest living species in North America, according to a brewery release. For every case of the beer sold, the brewery will donate $1 to help preserve the redwoods.
Gibson said that the new packaging will showcase the brewery’s roots in Humboldt County with an earthy and eye-catching design that features a hummingbird, the original icon of the brewery. Jessie Haggerty, the brewery’s social media coordinator, said that the hummingbird’s colors will change with each style of beer; red for Red Nectar, yellow for Nectar IPA and green and blue for Humboldt Brown Hemp Ale. The result is the same beers with a more consistent branding identity and a stronger appeal to craft beer consumers, Gibson said.
According to Christopher Weir, Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s media relations representative, Firestone Walker has amicably ended most of its contract brewing relationships and is in the process of phasing out Humboldt. When Nectar Ales was sold to Total Beverage Solution, Firestone Walker agreed to continue brewing the beer until new arrangements were secured. Gibson said that Humboldt’s contract with Firestone Walker lasts for nearly two more years.
“The beers were popular and keeping some continuity was only fair to Nectar fans and its new owners,” Adam Firestone, the brewery’s co-founder, wrote to Brewbound.com in an e-mail.