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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/57862
EXOTIC APPEAL Promoting imported beer can be an important point of diff erentiation in a competitive market. "Our clientele comes here because of our import selection," BREW BEER 101 How Beer is Made NEWCASTLE BROWN ALE EXPERIENCE THE SMOOTHER SIDE OF DARK. NEWCASTLE DELIVERS ON EXCELLENT CARAMEL MALT TASTE WITH SLIGHT HOPS TO FINISH CRISP AND SMOOTH. ABV: 4.70% BEER AVAILABLE ON DRAFT BEER STYLE: BROWN ALE PAULANER HEFEWEIZEN THIS CLASSIC BAVARIAN UNFILTERED WHEAT BEER IS NATURALLY CLOUDY. TOP-FERMENTED YEAST GIVES IT IT'S UNMISTAKABLE CHARACTER: TANGY AND A LITTLE FRUITY. ABV: 5.50% BEER AVAILABLE ON DRAFT BEER STYLE: WHEAT METALLIC TONE, SEMI0DRY BEER AVAILABLE ON DRAFT ABV: 5.10% BEER STYLE: LAGER SMITHWICKS BEER AVAILABLE ON DRAFT ABV: 5.00% BEER STYLE: IRISH ALE (In a nutshell) First, malted barley is mixed with hot water, creating the "mash", a mushy oatmeal-like substance. Next a sugary liquid called wort is drained off. The hops are boiled with the wort to add bitterness, flavor and aroma. Hops are the flower of a vine, which is a member of the marijuana family. Next, yeast is mixed with the hopped wort and left to ferment. The yeast converts sugar to ethanol (gets you drunk) and carbon dioxide (adds bubbles). PERONI PEPPERY & CRISP WITH A LIGHT BODY. HERBAL WITH A SLIGHT HOT WATEWA ET R TANKR AN HOPS MA MAL ALT MASHTUASH TUN MASH TUN U COP E COPPER HOP B H P B HOP ACK P BACK HEAT BOTTLES E ADD YEAS TODD YEAST T ERMENTE DDYEAST TO FERMENTE D ERM RMENT MENT R KEG KE KEG points out Neil Vigars, manager at the one-location Rock Island Brewing Company in Rock Island, Ill. For more than 32 years, the bar and music venue has been known in the Quad Cities for its selection of handcrafted beer, both foreign and domestic. "Th e collection has gotten more eclectic and beer-snobbish over the years and we market ourselves that way," says Vigars. Currently sales of imports run about 50 percent of total beer sales. Rock Island off ers 12 beers on draft and about 150 bottles, priced from $4.50 to $20. Th e most popular imports are Samuel Smith, Paulaner and Guinness. "We get a more sophisticated customer here than a Corona or Amstel crowd," says Vigars, who notes the bar sells a fair share of Dos Equis. "Because we are a German restaurant, people come here expecting imported beer," says Meaghan Fitzgerald, general manager of Jacob Wirth in Boston. Th e restaurant devotes at least half of its 48 draft lines and 50 bottled beers to imported brands. Draft prices range from $5 to $11.25. Th e focus is mainly on European imports; Belgian and German styles sell the best. Leff e Blonde and Schneider Aventinus are the most popular. "Over the past few years, Belgian beers have really been taking off in popularity," observes Fitzgerald. As a silver lining, Fitzgerald says reduced demand for imported REFRESHING AND CLEAN WITH A BALANCE OF HOPS SWEET MALT AND A HINT OF ROAST COFFEE . Enjoying the Brew Beer Tasting Tips Tasting is about the last thing in the world most beer drinkers would think they need advice on. But to get the most out of the experience, emulate professional wine tasters and strike out into new territory. Learn what the pros know... Start with a clean, dry glass for each brew being considered. Some argue that having the glass at the same temperature as the brew is best, since it prevents altering the liquid as it's poured. Experiment both ways, with a glass colder than or at the same temperature as the beer container. Prepare to think about a few of the major characteristics of a beer, and focus on at most one or two for a given sip. Appearance, aroma, mouthfeel, flavor and aftertaste all play a part in the experience, along with more subtle aspects. STELLA ARTOIS ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS GIVE STELLA ARTOIS A CLEAN, CRISP PALATE. THE FRESH, PALE MALT AROMAS OFFER A SWEET HERBAL NOTE AND A LINGERING HOPPY FINISH. ABV: 5.00% . BEER STYLE: EURO PALE LAGER Fox and Hound features a wide range of taps (top), as well as a dynamic beer list (above). beer has been an advantage for Jacob Wirth restaurant. It has meant greater availability for highly allocated brews such as rare Belgians Gulden Draak Tripel and Piraat Ale. Costs for some imports are lower as well; savings the restaurant has passed along to its customers. OVERSEAS INTERESTS Imports are at the heart of the Fox and Hound's newly launched beer initiative. "We have a lot of imported beers on our new list," exclaims Lisa Brooks, marketing director for the 82-unit sports bar chain based in Wichita, Kan. As part of its "Year of Beer" promotion, which kicked off Th e biggest factor impacting imports is rising competition from American craft beer for that prestige call. "Craft beer is what's selling fastest right now, imports not as much anymore," observes Larry Berestitzky, owner of one-location Cooter Brown's Tavern, Grill & Oyster Bar in New Orleans, which specializes in seafood and po' boy sandwiches. Although the sports bar still stocks a huge selection of imported beers, demand has dropped over the last fi ve years because of the popularity of microbrews. Corona and Heineken are among the sports bar's biggest-selling imports, along with Red Stripe. Cooter Brown's off ers nearly 400 beers, about two- thirds are imports, ranging in price from $3.50 to $20. Th ese days many customers drink imported beers that they have sampled while traveling to relive that experience, according to Berestitzky, in the hopes of creating sort of liquid souvenirs. 46 | MARCH 2012 this January, Fox and Hound mandated a chain-wide list of 100 beers; for some restaurants, that meant doubling the suds selection. "Th e bigger list means more variety, something new for our customers to try," says Brooks, who believes the larger selection will attract new customers to the restaurants. Th e company created a red leather-bound book, the fi rst page of which prominently features fi ve Belgian-style imports like Chimay and La Fin du Monde. Th e "Craft Import" section features another ten brands, and bottled imports number around 20. Bottles are priced $3.85 to $16.15; for a limited- time introductory period drafts were specially priced at $2.50. Th e eclectic selection ranges from Beck's, Kirin and Newcastle to Young's, Spaten and Peroni. "People do drink domestics but if we can trade them up to imports, that's going to grow our topline sales," posits Brooks. At Fox and Hound, Imports are www.cheersonline.com IMPORT CRAFT BEERS