Rustic Road Brewing's Greg York and Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co.’s Dick Leinenkugel bring in a case of Helles Yeah beer at the Kenosha brewpub last week. Credit: Kathy Flanigan

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Kenosha — Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. had a problem with last year's Hoppin' Helles beer.

The beer itself was fine. It was an easy-drinking beer brewed in the German Helles style, a light German beer, but made spicier and more aromatic with five different American hops.

The problem, Dick Leinenkugel said, was the name. Consumers were confused.

Those who wanted a traditional Helles beer thought Hoppin' Helles was too hoppy. And those who wanted a hoppy beer like an India pale ale thought Hoppin' Helles wasn't hoppy enough.

A team decided to rebrand Hoppin' Helles with the emphatic name Helles Yeah. A new problem: Rustic Road Brewing, 225-barrel brewpub in Kenosha, was already pouring its own straw-blond called Helles Yeah.

What to do?

It took a visit to Kenosha, a chat over beer and an undisclosed amount of cash to talk Rustic Road owner Greg York into giving the name Helles Yeah to Leinenkugel's. Rustic Road used Helles Yeah for its seasonal beer in March, April and May.

"Certainly it's a fun thing to do for our business," said York, whose Rustic Road first opened its doors in 2012. "It's nice exposure."

Last week, Dick Leinenkugel dropped off three cases of Chippewa Falls-bottled Helles Yeah at Rustic Road. York had assembled a big crowd for the event. The offer of free pizza didn't hurt.

Leinenkugel, manager of development for Tenth Street Brewery, owned by MillerCoors, took center stage to talk about the day he came to meet York and discuss the name change over a couple of beers.

He didn't say whose beers.

"I was going to go to Holy Thursday Mass and I stayed here," Leinenkugel said later, then laughed.

Fermenters in the storefront window blocked the sun while he addressed the noisy room. Ice-cold bottles of Helles Yeah dripped in a bucket on the bar. The gold labels featured the familiar Leinenkugel's North Woods theme. Helles Yeah, a year-round beer, will be released to the public Monday.

"We wanted to do the right thing," Leinenkugel said about the deal. "I talked to Greg and paid him a small fee."

To York, giving Leinenkugel's the name also was a way to pay it forward in a business he describes as a community. York was in the planning stages for Rustic Road when he attended a brewers conference where experienced brewers shared their ideas and techniques with him.

York also is friends with Matt Geary, who owns Public Craft Brewing Co., the other craft brewery in Kenosha. It's two blocks from Rustic Road. Geary opened his taproom a month after York opened the brewpub.

"That's why they say they're the oldest craft brewery in Kenosha," Geary joked.

The two brewers created Kenosha Beer Week in May and collaborated on a beer for the event. York said he sometimes sends customers over to Public when they've finished up at Rustic.

"It's a very cooperative environment," York said. "That's part of the reason I said, 'Great. Use it.'"

Of course, the regulars are going to have to get used to a new name for the Helles Yeah. In 2015, they will call it Spring's Back.