Dear Mug Club Members,

Hope you have been enjoying this incredible Summer and the many features of the Granite City Mug Club. We have been busy adding many new specialty beers, contests, specials and programs for you our cherished guests.

We want to reward you for your loyalty and advocacy and what better way to say "thanks" than to continue to brew high quality distinctive beers and to offer you these beers at the lowest prices in your market. We have for a while now, been adding to our specialty brew lineup and your consumption of these specialty beers tells us that you like the variety of new beers, the creativity from our Master Brewers and of course our extraordinary low prices. This year we ran one of your all-time favorites the Octoberfest from October through February (in many of our locations). We followed the very popular Octoberfest with the outstanding Batch 1000. This extraordinary beer quite possibly got us more compliments than any beer we have ever made. Many of you have written to me thanking us for putting this beer out... All we can say is this: "It's Our Pleasure". We love that you loved it. Next we added our Nut Brown Scottish Ale to the Specialty Brew lineup and the guys at our Brewing Facility "kicked it up a notch" by taking the Scottish Ale and infusing it with Oak Aged Whiskey... I think it is one of the best beers I ever tasted ANYWHERE. I hope you enjoyed the complexity of taste and aroma and the overall compatibility it had with our food. The Irish Red next made the lineup and this sweet tasting beer is a favorite with many and sold fast. Up next will be our Belgian Golden Ale which offers a unique combination of flavors such as Orange, Clove and Coriander. I have sampled this beer and I think you will love it.

We have been busy on the program side of the Mug Club. We have continued to grow our membership this year and now we top over 127,000 members. Thank you for your loyalty and advocacy. We gave away over 1,000 prizes last year to our most loyal Guests including 10 trips to Las Vegas. Our yearly tiered reward program has been a big hit as we continue to give away vacations, free dinners, table discounts and immediate seating.

This year we introduced seasonal Calendar Monthly awards. In the months of March, July and October we will be presenting Mug Club Members with the opportunity to receive fun gifts. So far for the March contests we gave away 1,400 hats, 225 T-shirts, 22 Sweatshirts. We think in July and October we will be giving away even more prizes.

As you build Mug Club points over the years each Mug Club Member has the opportunity to reach certain lifetime point levels for exceptional Granite City rewards. Last year we gave away 500 VIP Cards, 30 Hooded Sweatshirts, 25 Bomber Jackets and several vacation trips. I have personally heard from some of the Bomber Jacket winners and the quote I would like to share with you is from one winner who said, "Loved the jacket, it is special and Mug Club points do pay off". These jackets are really cool, made from genuine leather they sport our Granite City logo on the back and the winner's favorite GC beer logo on the front.

We continue to roll out specials from adding a second Growler fill night to introducing our new $5 Pitcher specials on Tuesdays and Thursdays, just another way to enjoy GC beer.

Finally, I want all of you to know that we greatly appreciate your business, patronage and advocacy. We remain driven to provide you with the very best in food, beer, service and overall experience. Once again, thanks for spending your valuable time with us and for making Granite City your preferred beer club. Our goal is to make THE GRANITE CITY MUG CLUB the best in the business.

Cheers,

Steve Wagenheim, President
Granite City Food & Brewery