Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Dos Equis New Ad Campaign Not Very Interesting

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dos-equis
Since 2004, Dos Equis and all of the Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma brands, which also include Bohemia, Carta Blanca, Sol and Tecate, have been marketed in the U.S. by Heinken USA through an agreement they signed with FEMSA, a multi-billion dollar beverage company in Latin America.

dos-equis-tv
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A COMPILATION OF THE ADS

The latest ad campaign Heineken is just launching and the plan is to position Dos Equis as a premium product through a nationwide push using spots called the “Most Interesting Man in the World” and with the tagline, “stay thirsty, my friends,” whatever that means. The advertising agency that created the ads is Euro RSCG, which is apparently the fifth largest global ad agency in the world and headquartered in New York City. If you click on the ad to the left, it will open a new window at AdWeek where you can watch the first commercial. This first one is something of an introduction, setting the tone for four more that will begin airing next week. Here’s how AdWeek describes the commercial.

It opens on a bearded, tuxedo-clad gentleman bench-pressing two comely nurses. A narrator intones oddly intriguing descriptions of the man, e.g., “His blood smells like cologne,” as the character continues to do implausible things, like freeing a bear from a trap.

Ultimately, we see a more mature MIM, with a touch of gray in his hair, seated at a table surrounded by beautiful women. He says, “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis.” The spot ends with the tagline, “Stay thirsty, my friends.”

There will also be radio spots, print ads in Stuff magazine and the MIM is featured on the Dos Equis website along with a separate website, staythirstymyfriends.com. You can also see all four commercials at that website.

Now the ad is well-produced and are not without some humor, but they don’t seem very different from almost any other beer ad created by a big name ad agency. What did strike me as odd and a little interesting was the following about just how Euro RSCG sees the ad campaign.

From the AdWeek story:

For Euro RSCG, the spot is a conscious attempt to elevate the often-lowbrow imagery associated with beer ads. “The stain of the Swedish bikini teams still lingers. Those kinds of ads are targeted at beer-drinking morons,” said Jeff Kling, ecd at Euro RSCG in New York. “We saw this as an opportunity to talk to people a little differently. It portrays a different kind of drinker.”

Raise your hand if you know what’s wrong with that. The “Most Interesting Man in the World” (MIM) is not low-brow? It can be distinguished from the Swedish Bikini Team? This is not aimed at morons? It displays a different kind of drinker? So let’s look at those statements.

  1. Not Low-Brow: The MIM is Ricardo Montalban without the Corinthian leather and sporting a beard. He’s classy with a capital “K.” This is every cliche of sophistication and in my opinion lacks any authentic portrayal of it whatsoever. It looks like what a drunken frat boy might consider high-brow.”
  2. No Lingering Babes: Uh, exactly what do you call the two Asian nurses in tight white uniforms in the beginning or the two babes in low-cut black cocktail dresses at the end? They may not be wearing bikinis, but they’re cut from the same cloth.
  3. Not Aimed at Morons: Because arm wrestling is the way intelligent people settle their political differences or spend an evening of fun. Worse than that, at the website you can “test your skills” by arm-wrestling a “deceased head of state.” They get bonus points for not realizing that Winston Churchill was not a head of state, but Prime Minister. The Queen is head of state in Great Britain. Another non-moronic game you can play at the website is a “Test of your resilience and fortitude” that involves holding down the spacebar on your keyboard as long as you can or want to. Now that’s sophistication.
  4. A Different Kind of Drinker: Freeing bears from traps and fishing for Marlin. Frankly I’d be worried about liability for all those different drinkers who had themselves a 12-pack and then actually tried to free a bear. I don’t see how this is in any way a departure from the same inanity that’s graced our TV sets for decades.

The ads aren’t really any worse than any other bad beer ads, but what I find troubling is how the ad agency speaks about them. Is it just me, or do their statements seems completely divorced from reality? Because if they were really setting out to show beer in a different light instead of how it’s been portrayed for a very long time, I think they utterly and completely failed in that regard. I for one, plan to not stay thirsty. Perhaps a nice beer with do the trick.

Top 50 Breweries for 2006

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The Brewers Association has just announced the top 50 breweries in the U.S. based on sales for 2006. Here is the new list:

  1. Anheuser-Busch; St Louis MO
  2. Miller Brewing; Milwaukee WI
  3. Coors Brewing; Golden CO
  4. Pabst Brewing; Woodridge IL
  5. Boston Beer Co.; Boston MA
  6. D. G. Yuengling and Son; Pottsville PA
  7. Sierra Nevada Brewing; Chico CA
  8. Gambrinus; San Antonio TX
  9. New Belgium Brewing; Fort Collins CO
  10. High Falls Brewing; Rochester NY
  11. Widmer Brothers Brewing; Portland OR
  12. Redhook Ale Brewery; Woodinville WA
  13. Pittsburgh Brewing; Pittsburgh PA
  14. Pyramid Breweries; Seattle WA
  15. Minhas Craft Brewery; Monroe WI
  16. Matt Brewing; Utica NY
  17. Deschutes Brewery; Bend OR
  18. Boulevard Brewing; Kansas City MO
  19. Alaskan Brewing; Juneau AK
  20. The Harpoon Brewery; Boston, MA
  21. Full Sail Brewing; Hood River OR
  22. Anchor Brewing; San Francisco CA
  23. Kona Brewing; Kailua-Kona HI
  24. Magic Hat Brewing Company; South Burlington VT
  25. Gordon Biersch Brewing; San Jose CA
  26. Bell’s Brewery; Galesburg MI
  27. Summit Brewing; Saint Paul MN
  28. August Schell Brewing; New Ulm MN
  29. Shipyard Brewing; Portland ME
  30. Mendocino Brewing; Ukiah CA
  31. Goose Island Beer; Chicago IL
  32. Abita Brewing; New Orleans LA
  33. Long Trail Brewing; Bridgewater Corners VT
  34. Brooklyn Brewery; Brooklyn NY
  35. New Glarus Brewing; New Glarus WI
  36. Rogue Ales; Newport OR
  37. Stone Brewing; Escondido CA
  38. Stevens Point Brewery; Stevens Point WI
  39. Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants; Louisville CO
  40. Firestone Walker Brewing; Paso Robles CA
  41. Great Lakes Brewing; Cleveland OH
  42. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery; Lewes DE
  43. Straub Brewery; Saint Mary’s PA
  44. Lagunitas Brewing; Petaluma CA
  45. Flying Dog Brewery; Denver CO
  46. Sweetwater Brewing; Atlanta GA
  47. Odell Brewing; Fort Collins CO
  48. Mac and Jack’s Brewery; Redmond WA
  49. Big Sky Brewing; Missoula MT
  50. Otter Creek Brewing; Middlebury VT

 

From the press release:

The Brewers Association, which tabulates industry growth data, reports that in 2006 77.7% of the craft beer produced was made from the top 50 craft brewing companies. Additionally, 34 out of the top 50 brewing companies in the U.S meet the Brewers Association’s definition of a craft brewer.

“Beer made by small, independent and traditional breweries is definitely an American success story,” states Paul Gatza, Director of the Brewers Association. “There’s a change in lifestyle going on. People are trading up and that is what is creating such strong demand for craft beer”.

With just under 1400 small breweries the segment eclipsed 6.7 million barrels in 2006. The fastest growing craft beer sector in 2006 was microbreweries (those under 15,000 barrels a year). Sales were up 16%, showing customer support for local breweries. Total craft beer industry sales have grown 31.5% over the last 3 years an early 2007 indicators point toward accelerating sales growth.

“If you Google craft beer you’ll see more press coverage than ever before. This is because beers from craft breweries provide diversity and flavor and that’s what people want,” stated Julia Herz, a spokesperson for the Brewers Association.

Twenty-two states are represented in the top 50 brewing companies list, according to the Brewers Association. California hosts (7) top breweries. Colorado has (5) and Oregon and Wisconsin each host (4) top producers. The remainder of the top 50 operate from New York (3), Pennsylvania (3), Vermont (3), Washington (3), Illinois (2), Massachusetts (2), Minnesota (2), Missouri (2), Alaska (1) , Louisiana (1), Maine (1), Michigan (1), Montana (1), Ohio (1) and Texas (1).

 

 

In 2006, while sales of large domestic brewers still lagged behind their 2004 peak, the craft beer segment continued to explode. Scan data from Information Resources Inc. shows craft beer with a 17.8% increase in supermarket sales for 2006—more growth than any other alcohol beverage category in the supermarket sales channel. For more sales statistics, the Brewers Assocation has set up a statistics page on their website.

This is more excellent news for craft beer, as the final number even exceeded easrlier estimates. Let’s raise a glass and offer a toast to craft beer’s continuing success. Cheers to all of those brewers making such wonderful, world-class beer.

Marzen Madness, Firkin Final Four

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The Washington Post’s Beer Madness, which I’m still calling Marzën Madness, held Rounds 4 & 5 this past Sunday and here are the final results. In the final four, Brooklyn Lager easily defeated Ellie’s Brown Ale while Saranac Pale Ale continued to surprse with an upset victory over Dominion Ale, advancing to the finals.

My prediction last week:

My pick for the winner: Brooklyn. Go Garrett! Brew, Fight, Win!

I may have done horribly in the real NCAA tournament bracket this year, but there’s some consolation in calling this one. Congratulations to Steve and Garrett at Brooklyn Brewery for their victory this year.

The firkin final four.

Marzen Madness, Elite ESB Eight

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The Washington Post’s Beer Madness, which I’m still calling Marzën Madness, held Round 3 this past Sunday and here are the results.

To me half, the matchups produced surprising results. I still can’t believe Allagash White lost to Dominion. I don’t hve anything against Old Dominion, but I think Allagash’s white is world-class. Rob Tod makes some outrageously good beers. The other surprise was Saranac besting Dogfish Head. To be fair, I have not tasted Sam’s Shelter Pale Ale but I have had the Saranac Pale Ale, and do not recall being much impressed by it at the time. And everything else I’ve had from Dogfish Head at least stood out as being not terribly ordinary. But I wasn’t there for the match so it’s hard to say on this one.

The final frothy four will go head-to-head (pun intended) this Sunday, April 1 with the final match the same day. I’m going to have to go with Brooklyn Lager vs. Dominion Ale in the finals, making it an ale vs. lager extravaganza. My pick for the winner: Brooklyn. Go Garrett! Brew, Fight, Win!

The bracket through the quarterfinals.

Four Points Announces CBO

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The votes are in, the interviews are over, and the glasses are empty. Four Points Sheraton announced today that Scott Kerkmans, Beer Director of Phoenix, Arizona-based Draft Magazine, has been named Chief Beer Officer (CBO). He will ring the bell to open today’s New York Stock Exchange. I’m not quite sure what that has to do with beer, but what the heck, I’m sure it will be fun.

Kerkmans beat out finalists Brad Ruppert, an information technology professional from Huntington Beach, California, Chris Nelson, a Web developer from Carmel Valley, California, and Jennifer Talley, research and development director at the Salt Lake Brewing Co. in Utah, Kerkmans along with over 7,500 applicants from more than 30 countries to get one of the most-highly sought after temp jobs in history.

From the press release:

Kerkmans earned a seat at the Four Points boardroom table by impressing not only the brand’s executives, but also the beer-loving public. Nearly half of the 12,759 people from around the world who cast their vote for their favorite finalist felt Kerkmans was the perfect fit for this fabulous opportunity. Since the night his brother gave him a home brewing kit, Kerkmans has been extremely passionate about everything beer, from its production and pairings to sampling stouts and sharing his rich knowledge.

Kerkmans has dedicated both his professional and personal life to beer. This 27-year old Phoenix resident and former Head Brewer / Brewery Manager spent the past year starting and growing DRAFT, a national lifestyle magazine focused on beer and beer culture, in which he reviews this glorious libation on a weekly basis. He is also a certified beer judge who spends much of his free time seeking out new brews.

“It is an honor to be Four Points first-ever CBO,” said Kerkmans. “I look forward to sharing my love for beer with the thirsty public and introducing this fun beverage to those who have yet to discover the joy that can be found in a perfectly poured cold one. Being named the Four Points CBO and working with the brand on its outstanding Best Brews Program is the job of a lifetime.”

Raising a Glass

On Monday, March 26th, Kerkmans will officially pull his bar stool up to the boardroom table and meet his new Four Points by Sheraton colleagues in White Plains, New York. Starwood executives and hundreds of associates will be on hand to lead the Four Points team and its newest chief in a celebratory toast.

Over the next few months, Kerkmans will collaborate with the Four Points by Sheraton team to work on the Best Brews program, host “happy hours” at select Four Points properties across the country, as well as attend high-profile beer festivals as the company’s representative.

“We are thrilled to have Scott join us as CBO,” said Four Points’ Vice President Sandy “Suds” Swider. “We took our search for our newest executive very seriously, and Scott’s passion for beer and brew eloquence is truly unparalleled. We look forward to working with him to further develop the Best Brews program and spread the word about this wonderful simple pleasure in the year ahead.”

33 Things

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The magazine Men’s Health has an interesting list of 32 Things You Can Do With Beer.

Here’s the list, but you’ll need to read the article to get their explanation for each.

  1. Bathe in it
  2. Put out a fire
  3. Marinate Meat
  4. Polish pots
  5. Make a beer barbecue sauce
  6. shampoo hair
  7. Loosen rusty bolts
  8. Clear up brown spots on your lawn
  9. Steam clams or mussels
  10. Pass a kidney stone
  11. Boil shrimp
  12. Kill Slugs
  13. Find due north
  14. Sooth tired feet
  15. Make a beer slide
  16. Lower your blood pressure
  17. Trick a cheap landlord
  18. Bake beer bread
  19. Catch mice
  20. Tie a fly
  21. Cure insomnia
  22. Massage yourself
  23. Calm an upset stomach
  24. Build your next home
  25. Cook rice
  26. Stop snoring
  27. Build a plane
  28. Roast chicken
  29. Ice a hamstring
  30. Build delightful patio furniture
  31. Tame a wild hair
  32. Scale fish

Notice the list has only 32 on it, the 33rd thing, of course, is using it as intended. There are some interesting non-intuitive ideas here, such as “loosening rusty bolts” or “clearing up brown spots on your lawn.” I’m going to give that one a try this morning. But several of them seem the same, in a way, like the seven cooking with beer suggestions. Isn’t that just one suggestions in seven different guises? And stopping snoring by tying a beer bottle to your back so you won’t sleep on it seems just plain silly, especially since it’s not really the beer but the package you’re using. You could use almost anything for that. That’s true of a few others, too, where it’s the bottle cap that you’re using rather than the beer itself. And frankly, I’m not sure beer suffers from not being versatile enough that we necessarily need to find more uses for it. Even if it’s only purpose was to drink it, wouldn’t that be enough for most of us?

Marzen Madness, Sweet Stout Sixteen

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As several people have sent me an e-mail asking if I was alright, I figure a word of explanation may be in order. Every two months, because I write for a few different bi-monthly magazines, I have paying gigs whose deadlines are all the same week. Usually, my posting just diminishes somewhat, but this time I had a particularly heavy writing load — not that I’m complaining — and so I had to abandon the blog temporarily. I still have one short article to go, but I’m waiting to hear back from someone so I thought I’d do a quick post in an effort to get back on track. So enough rambling, back to the games.

The Washington Post’s Beer Madness, which I’m still calling Marzën Madness, held Round 2 on Sunday and here are the results.

The only surprises in round two were Anchor Steam Beer being ousted by Dominion Ale and Sierra Nevada being defeated by Saranac Pale Ale. Since they’re both pale ales, it should have been an easy victory for Sierra Nevada. I’ve had Saranac’s Pale Ale, and while it’s not a bad beer, it’s no Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which literally defined the style for American Pale Ale in the early 1980s. Anyway, there a few interesting matchups coming up in round three, which will take place this Sunday, March 25. There are two browns slugging it out as Ellie’s Brown goes up against Pete’s Wicked, though it’s looking less wicked and more amber these days (sorry, Jaime). Brooklyn Lager should be able to handily defeat Bud, and Dogfish Head’s pale ale really should be able to pin Saranac’s. But the one to watch, I think, will be Allagash White going up against Dominion, an amber ale. I predict Allagash will make it to the Elite ESB Eight.

The bracket through round two.

Marzen Madness

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The Washington Post has an interesting little diversion along the lines of the 32-team bracket for the NCAA basketball tournament more commonly known as March Madness. The Post is calling it Beer Madness, though I think Marzën Madness is more clever, entirely on the flimsy basis that I thought of it. Essentially they chose 32 American beers from 19 states and then seeded them to go head to head at random. A panel of five then tasted each and declared a winner for each pairing. And although they chose one worthy colleague, Greg Kitsock, and a waitress from the world famous Brickskeller in D.C., the majority of the panel were chosen “entirely for their good looks.” Now I know this is just for fun, but for me it would have been more fun to have five reasonably beer-savvy panelists tasting the beers, but perhaps this will prompt me to try doing it myself next year.

Since the pairings were chosen at random, there were some unllikely beers going head to head, such as Allagash White vs. New Grist (a gluten-free beer) and Anchor Steam vs. Widmer Hefeweizen. There were few upsets, with the notable exception of Budweiser besting Victory Lager (though Victory’s Prima Pils would have been a better contest). The first round was completed yesterday and round 2 will take place this Sunday, March 18 with the finals two weeks after that on April 1. It’s certainly a fun idea, and will be interesting to see how it all turns out, even if I continue to wish the panelists all had some prior beer knowledge.

The bracket through round one.

Supermarkets Stocking Superior Suds

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According to a post today on Miller’s BrewBlog, craft brewers are getting increased placement on supermarket shelves. Citing ACNielsen statistics through the middle of February, craft beers’ presence in grocery stores has increased 16%, while at the same time imports went up 6.5%. As BrewBlog’s Jim Arndorfer notes, the real question now isn’t who’s gaining and how much, but “what brands will lose out?” This will be especially interesting to watch as beer season is about to kick into high gear with spring fast approaching.

Clinking Voyeurism

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Another “Here’s to Beer” effort to try bringing people back into the beer fold is “Clink,” within the social networking website MingleNow. There, members are encouraged to post photos to the site of friends clinking their glasses together. So far, a few hundred have been uploaded, many similar to this one.
 

 

Anheuser-Busch is the exclusive advertiser at the Clink portion of MingleNow, but that of course won’t stop the clinking glasses or bottles being filled with all manner of different beer. In one of my favorites currently at the site, a trio of Oktoberfest attendees enjoy mugs of Spaten.
 

 

Unfortunately, in their drive to entice younger people, most of the photos have a voyeuristic feel to them that I’m not entirely sure brings out the best in beer. Some of the photos do appear to be genuine expressions of friendship and good times shared over a pint, but a majority are exactly what you’d expect, mere titillation, especially as evidenced by the most popular photos which are voted on by MingleNow’s 300,000+ members. There are also contests for submitting pictures, such as one running now where you can win a VIP Trip to the Bud Light Aspen Spring Jam, a four day live concert festival.
 

 

As a recent BusinessWeek article put it, A-B is in “pursuit of the elusive 25-year-old Everyman. There’s the struggle to recalibrate how the brewer sells big brands in stupendous volumes amid the vicissitudes of an uncooperative and fractionalized market.” MingleNow focuses on the 21-35 nightclub demographic, which is ideal for A-B’s purposes though really it’s the 21-25 age bracket that gets most of the attention. ClickZ News and BizReport also have their own take on this story.

So my initial reaction is that this part of Here’s to Beer phase 2 push is much more helpful to Anheuser-Busch in recapturing the youth drinker than to beer as a category. It does little that I can see to realize the supposed goal of increasing beer’s share among all alcoholic beverages. Unless I’m missing something, can’t you clink a wine glass or tumbler of whiskey just as easily? As Silicon Valley business blogger Tom Foremski notes, “beer has helped build social relationships for centuries—maybe online social networks can now help build sales of beer.” Maybe, but I get the distinct impression that nobody thought through how this is really going to help persuade people to order a pint of beer instead of something else. Again, like the new Here’s to Beer website, Clink is not without it’s charms but hardly seems capable of changing anybody’s mind about the respect that good beer deserves.