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/777147
Imported Beer 40 Beverage Dynamics • January/February 2017 www.beveragedynamics.com and expanded capacity will allow experimentation with new prod- ucts. In 2017, two limited-edition beers will launch in the US. The fi rst, Latitude & Longitude, emerges from the company's Arctic Beer Project, inspired by Allsopp's Arctic Ale, brewed in 1875 for an expedition to the North Pole. The brewery owns three bottles of this rare beer, and is using this "oldest beer in the world" as a reference for the new brew. Later in 2017, the brewery will distribute Bold & Brave, an imperial stout aged in bourbon casks. Heineken USA credits the craft and specialty niche for opening new possibilities for imported brands. "The proliferation of craft brands has opened up a new set of beer enthusiasts who are dis- covering niche brands offering interesting fl avor profi les and are enjoying a plethora of choice," according to HUSA's Faust. "This segment never existed before the proliferation of craft, so much of the increased demand for our brands is incremental. Our portfolio is perfectly positioned with Newcastle Brown Ale and Dos Equis Ambar for advanced taste-seekers." Constellation blurred the distinction between international brewing companies, importers and craft producers with its pur- chase of California's Ballast Point Brewing Company. One of the fastest growing American craft breweries, Ballast Point now joins the score of small U.S. breweries that have sold to large brewing conglomerates, this time to a major importer rather than a do- mestic brewer. NEW PROMOTIONS Heineken USA has taken a potentially high-risk decision to re- fresh the highly successful "Most Interesting Man" campaign, credited with fueling the ten-year sales growth of Dos Equis, most recently at 8.9%. Jonathan Goldsmith, the urbane character at the heart of the campaign, was irreversibly retired in a story line that showed him departing for a life on Mars. A younger, still-bearded replacement will appear in ads in both English and Spanish. In addition, HUSA's Faust explains, "To capital- ize on Mexican segment growth and to recruit younger Millen- nials—Hispanics in particular—Dos Equis is 'Spicing up Cinco' and adding 'Adventure to Summer' with two seasonal on- and off-premise programs." Looking north, Moosehead (Canada's oldest independent brewery and the second largest independent in North America behind Yuengling), will celebrate a double 150th anniversary in 2017: for the brewery and the nation. At retail, look for special anniversary labels, as well as a consumer sweepstakes to win Moosehead Yeti koozies, found in specially-marked twelve- packs of Moosehead cans. BLURRED LINES Clean, binary distinctions in the beer world seem less and less useful. The domestic-versus-imports distinction is unhelpful when formerly American breweries are global in ownership and scope, and American heritage brands are faithfully brewed over- seas. American craft brewers are opening secondary facilities in other countries: are they international, or foreign, now, too? Mainstream-versus-craft arguments get fuzzy when big brewing companies purchase small craft companies and also brew beers in accepted craft-like styles, and craft brewers eye global markets. What is an imported beer, and what value does that label have? For retailers and their customers, the badge "imported" is probably meaningless when it includes everything from a Tecate Light to a Belgian monastic beer, and when the parent com- pany headquarters could be in New York or Leuven. The most important thing might be to understand the mix of fl avor, image and origin that is important to the customer, and arrange the shelves accordingly. 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.