Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics Nov-Dec 2015

Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/599364

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 59 of 83

Winter Beer 60 Beverage Dynamics • November/December 2015 www.beveragedynamics.com call 'seasonal creep,'" which sees pumpkin beers arriving in July, and winter seasonals by October. "Personally, I don't believe in it. It kind of annoys me," he says. "So I try to hold off as long as I can to try to make it make sense seasonally." Jeff Kreston uses email blasts to alert customers to early arrivals that may take them by surprise, then puts the winter beers up front as soon as they arrive. "You hate to have a customer coming in looking for a pumpkin beer in October or November, and they've already come out in the summer." "It's kind of hard sometimes, because when the fi rst winter beers come in, it starts killing off the Oktoberfest and pumpkin sales," he says. "If I walk in and see Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest, or the New Belgium Pumpkin, the appeal starts to die because people can see the next season's beers already." But he's philosophical. "I like seeing a seasonal gone. And it's the same with the brewers: they want to get all the seasonal beer out of their brewery, and get to work on the next one. They only have so much room to make things, and we only have so much shelf space and room in the building." DISTINCTIVE PACKAGING AND PROMOTIONS The arrival of the winter seasonals can jump-start the holi- day season, like it or not, as customers start thinking of gifts and entertaining. "I always look at winter warmers as the gift that brewers give their customers for being supportive throughout the year," Morrison says. "They really pull out the stops: all those specialty ingredients aren't cheap to come by." The extra ingredients and time invested justifi es a higher price and special packaging. "Sometimes, we'll get special holiday packaging in mag- nums or jeroboams (double magnums)," she adds. "There are nice holiday packs with a beer or two and maybe a couple of glasses. Those packages always do well, and of course we put them on the special shelf where people can ooh and ahh." Special packaging is more typical of imported winter beers, especially Bel- gian brands. Apart from unusual bottle sizes and labels, American brewers have been slow to adopt the habit. Kreston guesses this is a matter of history—the Christmas beer tradition is widespread in European brewing countries—or a matter of resources. "A major brand can come out with holiday packaging," he says. "Victory can't just make a thou- sand different packages. The budgets are a lot bigger for the bigger breweries. An Anheuser-Busch or a Miller has the extra marketing support, and they can change their packaging." Large bottles—some cork-fi nished—make a stylish statement and practically beg for a bow and a gift card. The wine-like 750-ml bottle remains a favorite for gift baskets. But Ciskey has spotted a shift in consumer packaging preferences, away from the 22-ounce "bombers" that emerged as a badge for the more expensive beers a few years back. "In general, the bomber is kind of dying as a format. I talk with the distributors about how we got caught off-guard on that. One day you looked up saw you had a lot of 22-ounce bottles that weren't selling like they used to. Now beer drinkers are looking for a four-pack," he says. He thinks the love of novelty is prompt- ing the change. "It's as if beer drinkers have limited attention spans. They can't drink a lot of one thing; they've got to try everything now." At Yankee Wine, they even break up the four-packs, giving consumers the chance to sample as wide a range of winter seasonals as possible. He also sees cans gaining in popularity, even for spe - cialty beers for which a can would have once seemed déclassé. When craft in cans made their debut, a 10% imperial black IPA in a can was a punchline. This year, it's the returning winter seasonal from well-regarded Surly Brewing Company. BD JULIE JOHNSON was for many years the co-owner and editor of All About Beer Magazine. She has been writing about craft beer for over twenty years. She lives in North Carolina, where she was instrumental in the Pop the Cap campaign that modernized the state's beer laws. Lisa Morrison is the owner of Belmont Station in Portland, Oregon, which combines on- and off-premise alcohol sales in a single location. "I always look at winter warmers as the gift that brewers give their customers for being supportive throughout the year" – Lisa Morrison PHOTO BY STEVEN SHOMLER

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Beverage Dynamics - Beverage Dynamics Nov-Dec 2015