CHICK BEER: NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND'S BEER

Chick Beer, a new beer created by a woman, exclusively for women, is now available in Iowa stores and restaurants, and bars. The superior light lager with a big beer taste weighs in at only 97 calories and 3.5 carbs. And make no mistake about it - this isn't your boyfriend's (or any man's) beer. Chick Beer was created for fun-loving, smart, independent women who embrace life with a passion.

Chick Beer is no gimmick. Brewed in Wisconsin, Chick Beer is actually crafted for the feminine palate. Its flavor emphasizes soft malt over bitter hops. Many women prefer a less bitter flavor. In fact, some scientists claim that women are genetically predisposed to avoid bitter flavors, a vestige from the time when women were "gatherers." Bitter flavors warned of potential poisons, so women quickly learned to avoid them. Additionally, Chick Beer is lightly carbonated, a feature that women also embrace.

Iowa joins a select number of states in the country where Chick Beer is available. It debuted in Maryland (home of its founder) in August 2011, and has since taken off like a rocket. One liquor store manager in Indiana recently said, "Women love this beer! They buy their first six-pack because it's different and fun, but they come back to buy a case because they are, frankly, really surprised at how good it tastes. Chick Beer is going to be hot!"

Shazz Lewis, founder of Chick Beer, tells how the idea was, well, hatched. "For many years, my husband owned a wine and spirits store in Maryland. One day, I was looking at the beer cooler, which had more than 400 different beers in it, and I had an 'aha' moment: Why wasn't there a beer that shouted out to me? I'm a woman who enjoys drinking beer. I'm a wife, daughter, sister and mother of five daughters. Why wasn't there a beer that celebrates, or even acknowledges my, well, 'chickness'?"

I couldn't let go of that idea, and so began doing some research. I found that women consume 25 percent of all the beer in the United States - that's 700 million cases a year - but no one has ever addressed this segment of the market. Until now."

Although the name of the beer came to Lewis in a dream, in retrospect its moniker is obvious. "For years," Lewis chuckles, "men have dismissed lighter beers as chick beers that are so not what 'real men' drink. But since when is chick a bad thing? I decided to turn the pejorative 'chick' upside down and use the word as a celebration of the strength and power of women. I also decided that Chick Beer packaging would be anything but subtle. There's no mistaking the bright pink logo against the silhouette of a little black dress and an over-the-top feminine font. No one will mistake Chick Beer for a dude's beer."

Chick Beer is being distributed in Iowa by Johnson Brothers, who sold out of their initial shipment within days of receiving it. The distributor is reloading and working hard to get Chick Beer to all the Iowans who are asking for it. If you don't see Chick Beer on your stores' shelves or at your favorite watering holes, get uppity! Tell the proprietor you want Chick Beer now. Retailers can call Johnson Brothers at 515.262.1199.

Consumers looking for places that are selling Chick Beer can visit www.chickbeer.com and click on the Chick Finder map. Chicks are hatching in Iowa at a fast and furious pace. The map is regularly updated, so please keep checking back.

Chick Beer is more than just another beer on the shelf. Lewis has pledged to donate 5 percent of its net profits to charities that empower women, primarily in the communities where the beer is sold. "I don't believe that there is another beer company in the U.S. that has made this kind of commitment to women," she says.

"I've been fortunate all my life in that I've had a loving, supportive family, educational opportunities, and jobs that have been professionally and personally rewarding. I'm now at a time in my life when I can fulfill a long-held dream of mine - to give back some of my good fortune to other women who haven't been as lucky."

The Chick Cares initiative, which contributes both to national charities that empower women and to local organizations in the states where Chick Beer is sold, has recently announced its charitable giving plans for 2012. Details are available at www.chickbeer.com

If you want to be among the first in the country to taste Chick Beer, you'd better hurry. Its Facebook page has nearly 6,000 "likes" from all over the globe. Women are asking for it in all fifty states, and around the world.

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DES MOINES, Iowa - A Davenport woman won a top prize of $10,000 playing the lottery's "PAC-MAN™" instant-scratch game.

Rosemary Ocar claimed her prize Friday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids. She purchased her winning ticket at Big 10 Mart, 2480 E. 53rd Ave. in Bettendorf.

PAC-MAN™ is a $2 scratch game. Players scratch each play. If "PAC-MAN™" goes from start to finish without meeting a "ghost," players win the prize shown. If they find a "cherry" symbol, they win $10 instantly. If they find the "strawberry" symbol, they win $50 instantly. The overall odds for winning a prize in the game are 1 in 3.94.

Six top prizes of $10,000 are still up for grabs in PAC-MAN™, as well as 545 prizes of $100.

Players can enter eligible nonwinning scratch tickets online to earn "Points For Prizes™" points. The point value will be revealed to the player on the website upon successful submission of each eligible valid ticket. There is a limit of 30 ticket entries per day. To participate in Points For Prizes™, a player must register for a free account at ialottery.com. Registration is a one-time process. Merchandise that can be ordered by using points will be listed on the website in the Points For Prizes™ online store. Players can choose from items in categories such as apparel, automotive, jewelry, sporting, tools and more.

Since the lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.8 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.3 billion for the state programs that benefit all Iowans.

Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans, help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund, and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which was implemented to create tourism destinations and community attractions in the state and build and repair schools.

PAC-MAN™ & ©NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. 

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Columbus, Wisconsin, April 5, 2012?Three dozen or so ice cream flavors simply aren't enough for Sassy Cow Creamery. And while the folks at Sassy Cow Creamery always enjoy coming up with new seasonal flavors for their premium ice cream, this time the farmstead creamery is offering its ice-cream-loving fans a chance to get in on the tasty fun, too. That's why the award-winning Sassy Cow Creamery is sponsoring a contest for a new farmstead-fresh ice cream flavor.

Consumers are invited to create their own ice cream flavors for the contest. The winning flavor will be announced and served on August 25, 2012, at the Sassy Cow Creamery's on-farm Ice Cream Social. The winner will be honored at the unraveling of this new flavor tasting event, and will receive a one-year supply of Sassy Cow Creamery Premium Farmstead Ice Cream.

The winning ice cream flavor will have to live up to the creamery's high standards. Sassy Cow Creamery farmstead ice cream is freshly made using milk produced by cows on the Baerwolf family dairy farms and other high-quality ingredients. The creamery earned first place honors for its Dark Cherry Chocolate Premium Ice Cream at the 2011 World Dairy Expo Dairy Product Contest, and continues to develop one-of-a-kind flavors. The current fresh farmstead ice cream flavors?more than 36 of them?feature seasonal specialties such as summery Raspberry Lemonade, as well as dozens of creative varieties like Purple Cow (black raspberry with chocolate chips), Chocolate Almond Toffee, Maple Walnut and Salted Caramel.

Sassy Cow Creamery is owned and operated by third-generation dairy producers?brothers James and Robert Baerwolf and their families. Visitors at the farmstead facility can follow the milk from cow to creamery as they watch traditional and organic milk bottling and premium ice cream making through a viewing window.

For information about the Sassy Cow Creamery contest and the Ice Cream Social on August 25, visit the website at www.sassycowcreamery.com, contact Kara Kasten at 608.445.2010, or e-mail kara@sassycowcreamery.com. Friend us on Facebook to get Sassy Cow Creamery news, recipe ideas and information about happenings on the farm.

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Sassy Cow Creamery, a state-of-the-art farmstead creamery, was started in 2008 by its owners/operators, brothers James and Robert Baerwolf and their families?the third generation to farm the land since 1946. In addition to premium ice cream, the creamery produces organic and traditional bottled milk, heavy cream, half-and-half, milkshakes and ice cream cakes made from farm-fresh milk produced by the family's two dairy herds. Sassy Cow Creamery offers consumers local choices, including whole milk, 2 percent milk, fat-free traditional milk and organic milk. Visit the Sassy Cow Creamery on-farm retail store at W4192 Bristol Road in Columbus, WI, just fifteen minutes north of Madison. The first Friday of each month, tours are offered so that dairy-lovers can see how milk is produced by the cows and then bottled or made into award-winning premium ice cream.