Traditional Beer Claims Comeback as Tastes Change

[Gifted Gourmet]

the article on beer

Britain, that sees itself as the guardian of traditional brewing, that real ales are making a comeback against mass-produced lagers.... in the United States, where a handful of giant brewers like Anheuser-Busch have dominated the beer market for decades, the taste for distinctive real ales is rising.  "Demand for cask-conditioned beer is small but it is growing," ...  "I guess the demand is mainly from young professionals and it is the micro brewers that are driving the change,"...  he too had noticed a distinct slimming down of the classic beer drinkers' profile attributed the change in part to maturity and in part to a greater health consciousness among consumers of all ages.

Validation on this change, beer drinking enthusiasts? Have the microbreweries made this a reality?

Thinner, but more satisfied?

True for you and your friends?

[Chef Shogun]

Are there many Real Ales around in the US? I know in Virginia we have Old Dominion Brewing Company's Real Ale, but I'm having a heck of a time finding it. Just have to go to their brewpub one of these days! Until then, it's OD Oak Barrel Stout all the way!

[Mayhaw Man]

Cask conditioned ales will never be a significant part of the US beer market for a couple of reasons, primarily the handling involved is not worth the trouble to most retailers. It takes education and skill to properly handle cask ales and they do not travel well at all. It also takes specialized equipment, not the least of which is the ability to properly store and handle "live" beer and a beer engine. THese things are not cheap and take a fair amount of regular maintenance to keep in top operating condition

Certainly cask ales have become an interesting sub market in the brewpub world in North AMerica, but hardly a blip on the radar.

Now as to the other part of the question: THere is no doubt that the rise in the popularity of microbreweries and brewpubs across North America (and indeed, other parts of the world) have led major breweries to respond by making products that are, frankly, more trouble than they are worth to the megabrewers. They are just not set up to make small products (let's say sub 1 million barrels) and the packaging and research that inevitably must take place because of their manufacturing and marketing systems does not lend itself to making small amounts of beer and then packaging and marketing it.

Anheuser Busch responded in the early 90's by forming the The Michelob Specialty Group and putting some very talented younger brewers in charge of the project. They made a wide variety of experimental beers in a cool, and unbelievably technically advanced brewhouse located in "the old brewhouse" in St Louis. Many of these beers eventually made it to the market for a time, although many were deemed too expensive or not marketable. THere was an irish style stout that was going to be packaged in widget cans that was unbelievably good that was deemed to expensive to market (they were probably right), but some things, like Ziegenbock (a direct competitor to the wildly popular Shiner Bock (at least in Texas) have remained on the market.

I worked on a project in MX that was destined to become Azteca, a beer made specifically to compete with Corona in the Soutwestern US in the Latin American Consumer Market, where they were getting creamed by Corona as many in that market wanted something that was not brewed in the US. The project was eventually canned, for reasons that had nothing to do with the beer. We were all very proud of it, but the marketing proved difficult (they spent a ton on it and still could not make it fly).

SO yes, the major brewers have been influenced greatly byu the rise in barrelage handled by small breweries, but pretty much they have handled things in a smart business like manner. AB jumped right on board and went after the microbrewers claim that their beer was "fresher" and therefore better. Freshness dating, in most markets, proved that because of the popularity of their brands and their already in place just in time inventory system at the wholesale level that AB was fully capable of getting fresher beer on the shelves than most micros and to keep it stocked and rotated better than any of us ever could. Basically, that one back fired on all of us.

[bobmac]

Mayhaw Man,Aug 4 2004, 04:20 PM

I worked on a project in MX that was destined to become Azteca, a beer made specifically to compete with Corona in the Soutwestern US in the Latin American Consumer Market, where they were getting creamed by Corona as many in that market wanted something that was not brewed in the US. The project was eventually canned, for reasons that had nothing to do with the beer. We were all very proud of it, but the marketing proved difficult (they spent a ton on it and still could not make it fly

Do you mean Azteca was something else before it was Azteca? I thought it was still around, although I can't say I have checked lately. I recall Simpatico and Panama beers both aiming at Corona's market -- both doomed for other reasons.

I suspect AB and the other biggies don't care much about the micros, since the biggies are going after the high-volume beer drinker who isn't into micros.

Edited August 10, 2004 by Mayhaw Man (log)

[Mayhaw Man]

No, it started out as Azteca in early 1997. They spent phenomenal amounts of money on advertising focus groups and packaging research-leased space in a brewery in MX to develop the product (I was running the brewery) and put full time brewers and packagers on sight to develop the beer. They later pulled the project, for an assortment of reasons that had nothing to do with the beer itself.

I was under the impression that it had been pulled from the market. It no longer appears in the AB list of products on the website. It was really quite tasty for a light "mexican" style lager.

This is a link to an interesting article in Beverage World on the Mexican beer phenom

[bobmac]

The words "destined to become Azteca" made me think what you developed had somehow morphed into Azteca. I now realize I had been thinking of Tecate, which begins with the four letters Atzteca ends with. D'oh!

[Mayhaw Man]

It was also being made within sight of the Tecate Brewery Brewstacks. We were made to feel remarkably unwelcome by the local officials (most of whom had an interest in Tecate Beer, if only free beer or family members employed there). Only an intervention by some other "officials" from Mexico City and Mexicali prevented some really annoying occurrences like no deliveries, no lights and no water (all of these things happened several times until things got "straightened out" with the "Local Officials". It was a really crazy time.