Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

Socialize

A Done Deal: NAB Buys Magic Hat & Pyramid

By

nab
The deal that was rumored late last month is now completed. North American Breweries has bought the Magic Hat, Pyramid and Portland breweries. The deal includes three breweries, five alehouses and one retail store.

From the press release:

According to Rich Lozyniak CEO of North American Breweries, the new beers add craft brewing credibility, and variety to the beers currently offered by the company. “We are really excited to add Magic Hat, Pyramid and MacTarnahan’s beers to North American Breweries. All three brands have a rich history of craft brewing that helps us gain acceptance in that tight-knit community,” said Lozyniak. “By having more beers to offer our customers, wholesalers and retail accounts, we can better compete with the multi-national mega brewers who dominate the U.S. beer industry.”

Along with the new craft beer offering, North American Breweries also imports and sells Imperial, Labatt Blue and the Labatt family of beers. Out of its Rochester brewery it makes and sells the historic line of Genesee beer, Dundee Ales & Lagers, the Original Honey Brown Lager and Seagram’s Escapes.

“The industry has taken a turn away from the mega brewers. We have a collection of regional and heritage brands that position us well among today’s beer drinkers,” said Rich Lozyniak. “At a time when the overall beer industry is in decline, we’re growing across brands which essentially created a great opportunity to collaborate with some of the best craft brewers in the business.”

According to the company, the heritage and brand position of Magic Hat, Pyramid and MacTarnahan’s will be closely guarded. “The credibility that these brewers have developed in the craft beer segment is key to our success. We will work hard to carefully maintain and grow what was passionately created by people who love to drink and brew beer.”

The new brands mean the addition of three new breweries, one each in: Portland, Oregon; Berkeley, California; and Burlington, Vermont. Magic Hat is the 10th largest craft brewery in the country, while Pyramid is the fifth largest. Both companies have a strong following of loyal consumers who love the craftsmanship that go into each unique beer.

Together Magic Hat, Pyramid and the Portland Brewing Co. (MacTarnahan’s) employ about 600 people. Currently, North American Breweries has approximately 500. “We’re a hardworking group of people with a strong track record of brewing beer, building brands and executing in the marketplace,” said Lozyniak.

Interestingly, the press release also includes NAB’s plans and their promise, presumably to consumers and fans of the brands they’ve purchased. That’s not something I’ve seen before, and it suggests they understand how brand perception effects how a particular brand performs, especially to beer geeks in the craft beer world.

North American Breweries’ Plans for Magic Hat, Pyramid and MacTarahan’s

  • The beer will remain the same: it will be brewed by the same people in the same breweries, using the same recipes, ingredients and commitment to artisanship as it has always been.
  • All breweries, Alehouses and the Artifactory will remain open. They provide a unique opportunity to sample and showcase the company’s best beers and brewing capabilities. Through the retail locations, we can talk to customers about the beers they want us to make.

North American Breweries’ Promise

  • We will communicate regularly and openly to our employees and at times — the media — about our business.
  • We put a very high value on our people and believe they are key to helping us compete with the mega, multi-national brewers who dominate the U.S. beer industry.
  • We will grow our brands by introducing them to new consumers and in new geographies through a focused sales and distribution effort.
  • We believe in working with one another to make our company great. We regularly adopt best practices company-wide.

What (Pete) Brown Can Do For You

By

Okay, I’m just having a bit of fun with UPS’ slogan and Pete Brown, UK beer writer. But today Pete has a nice overview of each of the big six beer companies that do business in the UK, entitled The Big Boys. It’s definitely worth a read. He talks primarily about their marketing efforts in the UK, but you get a sense of how he feels about the pros and cons of each company and the overall feeling that they’re not all the same.

Two Possible Buyers Emerge In Bass Sale

By

bass
The UK’s Publican recently included a report from the Scotsman regarding the emergence of the two likeliest candidates to buy Bass from ABI.

A North American brewing giant and small regional UK brewer have emerged as the front-runners to buy beer brand Bass in this country .It is believed brewing major Molson Coors and Well’s & Young’s, based in Bedford in England, are favourites to land Bass as current owner Anheuser-Busch Inbev is understood to be considering a sale to want to focus instead on its premium lager portfolio, which includes Stella Artois, Beck’s and Budweiser. It declined to comment on what it called “market speculation” about a potential sale.

Let’s see how this plays out.

International Brewers Buying Breweries In China

By

china
The English version of the Chinese newspaper, The People’s Daily, had an interesting article about international breweries investing heavily in the world’s biggest beer market: China. Entitled, Big Brewers Fermenting Deals in Southwest, it details, for example, how MolsonCoors has “recently spent $40 million to buy a 51 percent stake in a new joint venture with the Hebei Si’hai Beer Company.” Coors Light “now accounts for 10 percent of China’s premium beer market.” Carlsberg is making similar investments, and Anheuser-Busch InBev “started work on a new brewery in Ziyang, Sichuan province, this year.” And that’s just in the southern part of China. It’s a big market.

A-B InBev To Sell Off British Beer Brands

By

abib
The Times of London is reporting that Anheuser-Busch InBev is looking for buyers to sell off some of its most iconic British beer brands, including Bass, Boddington’s and Flowers. In the article, Buyer Sought for Beer That Britain Forgot, it appears the asking price for Bass is £10-15 million ($15-21 million in dollars), though that apparently “excludes both the trademark and international rights.”

bass

But it doesn’t look good, overall. From the Times article:

Despite its fame and longevity, Bass is now a minuscule part of the world’s biggest brewer, with volumes equating to a tiny fraction of the amount sold in its heyday in the 1980s. The brand, now brewed under contract by Marston’s, a rival brewer, which owns Pedigree ale, has suffered from a combination of lack of marketing investment and falling consumer demand as its multinational owner has focused increasingly on its global lager brands.

Boddingtons, too, has declined under AB InBev’s hands. The brand was once a leading part of the old Whitbread Beer Company, but its fortunes have dwindled since the closure in 2005 of the Strangeways brewery in Manchester, where it had been brewed since the late 18th century.

Despite the long history of the brands that AB InBev is looking to sell, finding a buyer could prove tricky. Obvious suitors including Marston’s, Wells & Young’s, Molson Coors and C&C Group are understood to have ruled themselves out.

Pabst Sale Update

By

pabst
Additional information about the recently announced sale of Pabst Brewing by billionaire C. Dean Metropoulos is seeping out, and again primarily the information is coming from Harry Schuhmacher, from Beer Business Daily (proving once again everyone in the beer business should subscribe to his daily newsletter).

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the sale price to Metropoulos is $250 million. They also claim that the “deal is ‘in its final stages’ and is being backed by GE Capital. MillerCoors will presumably continue to brew the beers for Pabst, since their contract isn’t up for renewal until 2015.”

Perhaps most frightening, and clear proof that Pabst won’t become a more sophisticated brand under the new management:

The Journal says that Metroupoulos’ two sons, Evan 29, and Daren 26, “are expected to play key roles at Pabst.” These two guys are men about town for sure. The New York Times society columnist describes meeting them at a party where they were lounging on a couch. When the writer didn’t know who they were, Evan reportedly said, “Where you been, man? I’ve been on David Letterman and Howard Stern … I’ve been with more chicks than any fat guy you know, except Pavarotti.”

Wow, classy. But then again, it is PBR. Beer Business Daily also had a lengthy update with more information yesterday that’s worth taking a look at.

Pabst Finds A Buyer

By

pabst
Harry Schuhmacher, from Beer Business Daily, is reporting that at long last, Pabst Brewing may have finally found a buyer. The new buyer is C. Dean Metropoulos, formerly of Pinnacle Foods, a food brand giant that he sold last year for $2 billion.

For several years, Pabst has been owned by a non-profit charitable foundation in Northern California, the S&P Company of Mill Valley. The I.R.S. has been insisting since at least 1996 that S&P must sell off Pabst, but they’ve been unable to find a qualified buyer. As a result, the I.R.S. has been granting them extensions while they’ve continued to search for a buyer.

Harry’s take?

He is “adept at revitalizing neglected brands like Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Pam cooking spray and Dennison’s canned chili—and for getting shelf-space mileage out of stronger brands like Bumble Bee canned tuna. ‘I look at all kinds of acquisitions, but I narrow it all down to the strength of the businesses I am already in,’ Metropoulos says to Forbes. Sounds like the right man for the job.

UPDATE: The news from Beer Business Daily is now posted publicly for subscribers and non-subscribers alike.

Esquire’s Worst 9 Beers

By

worst
Esquire has an odd little piece this week choosing the Nine Worst Beers on Earth, a fairly bold claim given how many beers are brewed on our planet. The author, St. Louis columnist Evan S. Benn, has probably not tried everything yet since he’s only been writing his column since last June, but overall his list does include some truly awful beers.

And while it wasn’t my intention to disparage Benn, in a recent column, Navigate Beer Fests Like a Pro Drinker, he does recommend spit buckets with the following. “You would be surprised how quickly the alcohol in 2-ounce samples can catch up to you. You’d also be surprised at how many beers you thought would be great but end up being disappointing. Don’t be ashamed to use the spit buckets stationed near every table. If you feel like one sip is enough but still have more in your glass, dump the rest into the bucket and move on.” I think he means the “dump buckets,” which is what they’re called in the beer world, but it almost sounds like he’s suggesting not swallowing at least that first sip, a pretty important step in fully tasting any beer. I know judges who occasionally spit second, third, etc. sips when tasting a large number of beers, but that first sip, at least, must be swallowed.

But back to his list, with which, in fact, I can’t disagree with any of his choices except for one, though to be fair I haven’t tried the new Game Day Light. I received an offer to get samples, but maybe I should answer it after all, just to be sure. But the beer I strongly disagree with is the Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic. It’s not that I’d champion it as one of the world’s best, but from his write-up it appears Benn doesn’t realize that beer has been around since 1990 and the sweetness he finds so distasteful is from maple syrup. While the Sam Adams’ version of a lambic may not make my top 100 beers, it’s nowhere near my bottom 100 and I can think of sweeter, less appealing fruit lambics just off the top of my head.

Here’s Esquire’s list:

  1. Bud Light & Clamato Chelada
  2. 7-11 Game Day Light
  3. Rock Ice
  4. Sleeman Clear
  5. Michelob Ultra Pomegranate Raspberry
  6. Camo 24 Extra Smooth Super Premium High Gravity Lager xxXxx
  7. MGD 64
  8. Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic
  9. Olde English 800

Why nine, and not ten — especially with so many bad beers out there — I can’t explain. But there are certainly many more beers that I’d put on such a list, beers that if offered to me outside of work, I’d politely decline. Corona and Heineken (and their light versions) leap to mind, as does Stella Artois and most of the nearly interchangeable American-style, European-style, New Zealand-style, Latin American-style, etc. mass produced light lagers. It’s not that they’re poorly made, in fact most are quite well-constructed, but I’m still not interested in drinking them. I want something with flavor … or more flavor, at least.

What beers would make your list of the worst?

Native But Unnatural

By

colorado
Earlier this month, AC Golden Brewing — a wholly-owned subsidiary of MillerCoors — announced their newest project, Colorado Native. AC Golden is essentially just the Coors pilot brewery located inside Coors’ massive brewery complex in Golden, Colorado. Pretending they’re a small, separate, independent company may work on paper, for legal purposes, but I’d like to believe that most people can see through the deception.

The idea behind Colorado Native, while arguably laudable, seems too calculated to be sincere, especially when it’s being done by a global multinational company. Designed to appeal to locavores, it’s “brewed in Colorado with virtually all Colorado ingredients, more than any other beer.” More than any other beer? Do they mean more than any other beer in Colorado? Or any other beer, regardless of where it’s from? If the latter, I believe they may be forgetting Sierra Nevada’s Estate Ale.

colorado-native

The beer itself is an amber lager, which should at least please Michael Lewis, who at this year’s CBC famously dissed any craft beer that’s not a lager. Still, it’s hard to get worked up about a beer, no matter how well-intentioned, that’s made in the heart of one of the largest single breweries in the world. To me that sends a mixed message at best. The beer may taste fine, and probably does, but it’s not be marketed on taste, it’s being used instead to sell an idea. And that’s where I think it’s doomed to fail. No matter how native Colorado Native is, it still can’t separate itself from the unnaturally large parent company that’s about as un-local as a business can be.

The other odd bit about Colorado Native is that it’s also being promoted using social media, as detailed in Advertising Age. They have a Facebook page and will be using SnapTag technology on its packaging, something other “small” companies like Unilever, Ford and Crayola are also using to reach and data mine customers. In the AdAge piece, here’s how they characterize breweries using social media.

Brewers have typically been slow to move into mobile and social-media channels because of concerns that age verification presents too big a hurdle for consumers to be willing to jump over — Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Michelob is perhaps the only major-brewery owned brand on Twitter, for instance — but that isn’t stopping MillerCoors here.

Huh, how did they miss the literally hundreds of small breweries on Twitter and Facebook, so many it’s a damn phenomenon. Over the past two years, the Craft Brewers Conference has held two panel discussions about the use of social media by breweries, one of which I sat on the panel. And their comment about age verification continues to stick in my craw. Where the hell does it say only adults can TALK or READ about alcohol? Drink, yes, I disagree with that but understand it. That people under 21 aren’t allowed to read about beer on websites is something that makes no earthly sense.

colorado-native-btl

But back to Colorado Native. Using tools that only very large companies can afford doesn’t make them seem particularly small or local, which as far as I can tell is the image they’re trying to project. In the Denver Business Journal, SnapTag’s chief marketing officer Jane McPherson was quoted. “Rather than just looking at the bottle, they [consumers] can have a much fuller brand experience.” I know marketing is important, but really? A “fuller brand experience?” I have no doubt that the brewers tried to create the best-tasting beer they could, but this whole “project” seems more about the image and marketing than the beer. It’s more about trying to fit an identified niche than just creating a beer they like and trying to see if people like it and will buy it, too. It just feels too calculated. And that’s why, to me, it may be a native beer, but it still seems entirely unnatural.