Berry popular beer should be easier to find

Abita’s Pontchatoula strawberry-infused beer won so many fans last year it was next to impossible to find it. But there’s no short supply this year. “We’re making 75,000 cases for 2008,” Abita brew master Mark Wilson says. “That’s three times the amount we made last year.”

The cases hit stores in late February, and the company anticipates the berry beer will last through May. Last year many retailers set per-customer limits, which in part prompted Abita to make more.

“It’s one of our most popular beers. This year we’re prepared,” Wilson says.