In a continuation of its outside-the-box marketing moves, family-dining chain IHOP has joined the craft beer scene with the creation of its own private-label beer.
The seasonal beer, aptly named IHOPS Pumpkin Pancake Stout, is not available at its restaurants. Instead, the limited-edition fall beer is being served at select bars and festivals in New York, stretching from Brooklyn to Poughkeepsie.
Made by New York-based Keegan Ales, the seasonal stout is made with the flavors of pumpkin, maple syrup, seasonal spices and IHOP buttermilk pancake batter, the company said. The stout will be sold through the end of October.
The beer is being promoted alongside IHOP’s seasonal pancakes, Pumpkin Spice, Cinn-A-Stack, and a hybrid of the two, Pumpkin Cinn-A-Stacks.
CMO Brad Haley said the new combo dish “tastes just like a pumpkin pie and a cinnamon roll married and had a food baby.”
Haley, the architect behind the viral “IHOb” campaign from earlier this year, said the Glendale, Calif.-based company’s advertising agency, Droga5, suggested creating a beer that paid tribute to IHOP’s famed pancakes.
“We wholeheartedly agreed,” he said in a statement.
Keegan Ales, which describes itself as making “everyday beers for everyday people,” made 20 barrels for of the IHOPS brew.
Over the summer, the 1,750-unit subsidiary of Dine Brands International Inc. created huge buzz when it said it was changing its name to IHOb. Brand followers fell for it, believing the brand was turning its emphasis to “breakfast,” or “bacon” instead of pancakes.
The move was a publicity stunt designed to promote the launch of the chain’s new line of Ultimate Steakburgers.
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