Welcome to RBPMail 3.10, October, 1997

[Real Beer <rblists@realbeer.com>]

Welcome to RBPMail  3.10, October, 1997 

Real Beer Page Mail, The Monthly Brew News Digest For the Online 
Beer Enthusiast. 

In this issue: 

* Carlsberg-Tetley Axes 3 Of 5 Breweries 
* Japanese Bank Becomes Top Brit Pub Co.
* UBA Pulls Out Of Nor'Wester Deal
* Saxer Buys Nor'wester Brand
* Japan Brewing Industry In Flux Mode
* U.S. Leads World In Number Of Breweries
* Stroh's Closes Its St. Paul Plant
*  Subject Spotlight: Oktoberfest!
  - Degroen's Beers/Baltimore Brewing Co.
  - Our Top Ten U.S., German-Style Brewer's:
  - Oktoberfest Events
* Corrections/Oversight
* Web Watch
  - !!! The Real Beer Channel !!!
  - Real Beer Virtual Postcards
  - Gregg Glaser Joins The Real Beer Authors
  - Order Cigars Online
  - Real Beer Picks
  - * Mendocino Brewing Company
  - * Twenty Tank Brewing Company
  - Quickie Email Survey 
* Coors Divests Unibev
* NYC Brewpub Owner Sued By Feds For Discrimination 
* Bud's Tactics Work In Czech Republic
* Major Czech Brewery Shifts
* More Czech Movement: Two Breweries Merge
* New Book Review
* Been Caught Reading - Editorial

-------------------------------------------------------- 

CARLSBERG-TETLEY AXES 3 OF 5 BREWERIES 
In a September 25 announcement, Carlsberg-Tetley announced the details of a 
three year plan designed to create a competitive and profitable independent 
brewer and wholesaler. The plan is the result of a company wide review which 
began in June when a proposed merger with Bass Brewers was blocked by the 
government. C-T Chief Executive, Ebbe Dinesen, said, "The initiatives we are 
announcing today will put us in excellent shape to compete vigorously as the 
UK's largest brewer and wholesaler without a conflict of interest with our retail 
customers and with the wholehearted backing of a shareholder, Carlsberg A/S, 
which is committed to our future. We have profitable brands which will receive 
significantly more investment, as well as our effort to build on our reputation as 
an industry leader in customer service. Our major regret is that in order to be 
competitive we have had to remove large amounts of cost from the business, 
which will mean substantial job losses at or around 1500. However this was 
unavoidable if the company and its remaining employees were to have a more 
secure future. Michael Luul, Chief Executive, Carlsberg International, which 
now owns 100% of Carlsberg-Tetley, added: "This plan will put Carlsberg-
Tetley in a strong competitive position. We are planning to invest L40m in 
production over the plan period. With net assets well in excess of our 
investments, we have a unique opportunity to shape the company into one of 
the most efficient in Europe, which, coupled with the Carlsberg and Tetley 
brands, would make it a very competitive British brewing company. Details of 
the plan are as follows;

-- BREWERIES
The company will retain two breweries, at Leeds and Northampton. Both will 
receive substantial investment in order to increase efficiency and extend 
capacity. Northampton and Leeds together will receive around L40m 
investment. Carlsberg-Tetley's remaining three breweries are to be closed 
down, or, if possible, the Burton Brewery will close by April 1999 with the loss of 
550 jobs. However, Carlsberg-Tetley has announced that the closure of the 
Brewery may be avoided if a suitable buyer can be identified. The Alloa 
Brewery in Scotland will close by May 1998, with the loss of approx. 85 Brands 
brewed at Alloa including Calders and the Arrol's range. These will continue to 
be brewed in Scotland under a new contract arrangement with Caledonian 
Brewing Company Ltd. of Edinburgh. The Wrexham Brewery will close by 
October 1999 with the loss of approx. 35 lobs. Investment and other efficiency 
initiatives in Leeds and Northampton will lead to a further reduction of 70 jobs. 
Ebbe Dinesen comments: "We looked at every possible option, but focusing on 
two modern breweries is the right answer. There is over capacity in the brewing 
industry and we cannot compete effectively unless we are more cost effective 
than our competitors. Wherever possible we will use early retirements, voluntary 
redundancy and re deployment to avoid compulsory redundancies."

-- DISTRIBUTION
Carlsberg-Tetley's On-Trade Retail Distribution operation is to be streamlined in 
order to continue its drive to improved efficiency. The plan envisages the 
company reducing its number of stocked depots, but retaining 'in-house' 
services it sees as essential to sustaining its leadership in customer service. 
Plans include investment in new, modern sites, to which existing operations will 
transfer. As well as depot closures, it is anticipated that there will be 280 job 
losses in Retail Distribution. The Primary Distribution function, involving the bulk 
transfer of beers from breweries to retail distribution sites, will be contracted out 
to a third party. which will mean the eventual transfer to new employers for 100 
people.

-- CORPORATE SERVICES MARKETING AND SALES
The existing Carlsberg-Tetley headquarters building at Birmingham Business 
Park will be vacated, with all head office functions transferring to offices at 
Northampton Brewery. The Marketing Department, currently based at Burton, 
will also move to Northampton. Similarly, Carlsberg-Tetley Take Home Sales 
will be based at Northampton, transferring from its current rented offices at 
Godalming, Surrey. Telesales will consolidate at three locations, Leeds, Alloa 
and Romford. Existing operations at Torquay and Warrington will close. In 
addition, sales support staff levels will be reduced. Other corporate functions, 
such as Finance and Human Resources, will be largely concentrated in 
Northampton and Leeds. These changes are expected to result in a loss of a 
further 380 jobs. Ebbe Dinesen adds: "It is never easy to announce the loss of a 
significant number of jobs. However, once the merger with Bass Brewers was 
blocked, we had no alternative, as we made clear in our submissions to the 
regulatory authorities. However, this plan will ultimately put Carlsberg-Tetley in 
a position to enjoy healthy profits - and enable us to give a good return to our 
parent company, Carlsberg NS." (from Peter Haydon, World Editor, breWorld) 

         http://www.breworld.com

JAPANESE BANK BECOMES TOP BRIT PUB CO.
The Japanese investment bank Nomura became the largest independent pub 
company in Great Britain after its $1.9 billion (1.2 billion pounds) purchase of 
pub chains Inntrepreneur and Spring Inns. Inntrepreneur's former owners are 
Grand Metropolitan Plc and Foster's. The size of the new group, bringing 
together 2,900 outlets with 1,400 Spring Inns will allow for a better platform from 
which to negotiate beer prices from brewers for its pub tenants. Inntrepreneur 
was formed in 1991. Currently its publicans are tied to an exclusive beer supply 
agreement with Scottish & Newcastle; the agreement expires in March, 1998. 
The new organization makes up the largest supply agreement for S&N outside 
its own pubs. Currently, Inntrepreneur's pubs are centered in Manchester and 
the Midlands across to Bristol and London. The prime base for Spring Inns is in 
East Anglia. 

UBA PULLS OUT OF NOR'WESTER DEAL
The troubled Nor'Wester Brewing group was nearly dealt a death blow with the 
withdrawal of prospective business partner United Breweries of America. 
Nor'Wester, along with Aviator Brewing of Seattle, Bayhawk Brewing of Irvine, 
California, North Country Brewing of Saratoga Springs, New York, the already-
shuttered Mile High Brewing of Denver, and Willamette Valley, Inc. a holding 
company, comprised a nation-wide chain of microbreweries, each of which was 
funded by local public stock offerings. UBA Chair Vijay Mallya (see Celebrator 
Beer News June/July 1997 @ http://www.celebrator.com) cited Nor'Wester's 
failure to meet minimum net worth stipulations and its failure to re-negotiate 
terms of repayment with major creditors to be the reason for its withdrawal from 
the deal. First announced on September 26 of 1996, the deal would have 
traded $9 million in cash, $2 million in stock, and another million dollars in 
licenses and management services for a 26% stake in the consolidated 
companies. The industry consensus was that Nor'Wester CEO Jim Bernau had, 
in the words of one brewery president, "caught himself a big fish." As the year 
progressed, however, the fish turned out to be more of a boa constrictor, with 
the terms of the deal changing first to $8.6 million for 45% of the company, then 
to $5.5 million cash, plus $2.75 million in bridge loans for a 40% stake. By the 
time Mallya called off the deal, the $2.75 million credit line extended by the 
Indian entrepreneur had been completely tapped. This line of credit was 
secured against the Saratoga Springs brewery, and Mallya has secured his 
credit well, holding position as the superior lien holder on the makers of North 
Country. "They're going to be coming back to me and proposing what assets 
they want me to have," Mallya said. "I may get a brewery or two in the process, 
and I'd be quite interested in looking at their assets." The lien supersedes all 
other claims, including Chapters VII and XI bankruptcy. For $2.75 million, Mallya 
bought himself a new, well-situated brewery on the East Coast. Investors in 
Nor'Wester are looking ever-closer to S.O.L., creditors can get in line, and Mr. 
Bernau appears to have some explaining to do. (Source: William Abernathy)

SAXER BUYS NOR'WESTER BRAND
According to an article by Mike Francis in the Portland Oregonian, Saxer 
Brewing Company has purchased the Nor'Wester brand after Nor'Wester shut 
down operations earlier in the month (BeerWeek 7/15; 7/22). Saxer, which until 
now has been exclusively a lager producer, will now double its output, shelf 
facing and tap handle potential. 

JAPAN BREWING INDUSTRY IN FLUX MODE
Kirin Brewery Ltd., has lost market share after years of leadership in the 
Japanese beer industry, and has announced major shifts:  1) It will enter the 
low-malt beer market 2) It will cut costs by 30 billion yen ($247 million) 3) It will 
reduce the number of employees (9000) by 20% over a three-year period, 
through natural attrition and slowing down of re-hiring. 4) It will renovate 
facilities at two of its 15 plants and close three of them. Kirin has indicated that it 
believes that Japan's beer market has leveled off to only one percent annual 
growth. It hopes to expand by looking to the foreign market, especially China. It 
intends to develop new facilities in China and strengthen its sales network there 
as well. Currently, it is the number one imported beer in Taiwan. Currently, Kirin 
is losing market share to rivals Asahi Breweries Ltd., and Sapporo Breweries 
Ltd. Asahi and Suntory both increased shipments in August, while Kirin posted 
declines. Asahi reported a year-on-year increase in its August shipments, and 
that its January-August period was up 10.6 percent from the same period a year 
earlier.

U.S. LEADS WORLD IN NUMBER OF BREWERIES
In a September 26 press release from the Institute for Brewing Studies, it was 
announced that the United States now exceeds Germany in the number of 
operating breweries. Germany now has 1,234; the U.S. has 1,273. Germany's 
count was surpassed in June, 1997. Of the 1,273 U.S. breweries, 1,250 are craft 
breweries.
According to the same report, the largest number of U.S. micros are in 
California, Colorado and Washington State; California, Florida and Colorado 
have the most brewpubs. Oregon, California and Colorado lead with the most 
regional specialty breweries, while Vermont, Wyoming and Colorado have the 
most breweries per capita.

STROH'S CLOSES ITS ST. PAUL PLANT
Stroh Brewery announced this month that it would close down its St. Paul, 
Minnesota, brewery over the next two months. The decision was made owing to 
the facility's age. Built in 1865 by Hamm's Brewing Co., it was deteriorating and 
was too limited in its production capacity to stay profitable. The St. Paul 
production will be shifted to other plants. 

 *** SUBJECT SPOTLIGHT: OKTOBERFEST! *** 

Although the Oktoberfest in Munich is wrapping up, you can look forward to 
plenty of festivals available this season. It's the time of the harvest. The Burning 
Man. Death and Rebirth. It's a time to celebrate our time here and those who 
came before us. Below are our top picks of traditional German Lagers available 
in the U.S. with which to enjoy your celebration.


DEGROEN'S BEERS/BALTIMORE BREWING CO.
Theo DeGroen is brewing some of the best German-style Lagers in the U.S. 
Hands down. If you can't visit them personally and pick up one of their classic 
growlers, surf their website at:

          http://www.degroens.com

OUR TOP TEN LIST OF U.S., GERMAN-STYLE BREWER'S:

1. DeGroen's/Baltimore Brewing Co.
2. Capital Brewing, Madison, WI
3. Bayern Brewing, Missoula, MT
4. Sudwerks, Sacramento, CA
5. Tabernash, Denver, CO
6. Saxer Brewing, Portland, OR
7. Rio Grande Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM
8. Gordon Biersch, San Jose, CA
9. Bavarian Brewing Co., Maumee, OH
10. The Weeping Radish, Manteo, NC

OKTOBERFEST EVENTS
We'll try to bring you these event's in September's RBPMail. For more 
information, surf our events calendar online by date, topic, location, etc.

         http://www.realbeer.com/rbp/rbp.events.html

THE Oktoberfest
September 20 - October 5, 1997 - Munich, Germany

DeGroen's Annual Oktoberfest Celebration
Saturday, September 27th 1997

Mass Bay Brewing Co. 8th Annual Octoberfest
October 2 - 5, 1997 - Boston, MA

Napa's 150th Anniversary Octoberfest
October 5, 1997 - Napa, CA

4th annual Oktoberfest
October 4, 1997 - Sheboygan, Wisconsin

BJ's Brewery Beer Appreciation Night: Oktoberfest & Munich Lagers
October 7, 1997 - Mission Viejo, California

Chicago's 6th Annual Microbrewers Oktoberfest
October 9 - 12, 1997 - Chicago, Illinois

Routh Street Brewery Oktoberfest Brewer's Dinner
October 9, 1997 - Dallas, Texas

Manayunk Brewing Oktoberfest
October 15, 1997 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Oktoberfest
October 18 - 19, 1997 - Campbell, California




CORRECTIONS/OVERSITE
Last month we covered breweries online that won 1996 GABF medals. 
Conspicuously absent were our friends at brewmoon, to whom we profusely 
apologize.

brewmoon restaurant and microbrewery, Saugus, MA
Gold Medal winner
GABF 1996
Munchener Helles
http://www.brewmoon.com

********** WEB WATCH ********** 

A REASON TO DOWNLOAD MSIE 4.0:
!!! THE REAL BEER CHANNEL !!!
Despite the server overloads, 65MB install file and a potential small dilemma 
with your personal politics, we think once you install Microsoft's Internet 
Explorer 4.0 for Windows you'll be pleased by what you find. In the new 
channels format you can find several branded content sites such as ESPN, 
Epicurious, Disney and Real Beer. Yep, that's right. Our Real Beer guy will be 
smiling while greeting you to our new channel. Real Beer partnered with one of 
the nicest guys in the business, Jeff Scott, of www.beerexpedition.com. Many 
thanks to Jeff for pushing the project along as well as to Jenny, his wonderful 
wife, who put up with his absence during some late nights. We liked the format 
of the Channel: You subscribe. It downloads new content each week. You 
browse it off line. What we like about this format is that it comes closer to 
"happening to you" like when you turn on your television or radio. And it 
integrates into all the tools you've come to trust from the Real Beer Page. Even if 
you do not have MSIE 4.0, please go to The Real Beer Channel page to 
participate in the survey and influence what format our next content push will 
come to you in. The drum roll and url, please:

        http://realbeer.com/channels/

SEND THE REAL BEER GUY TO YOUR FRIEND
We've just launched a new feature for you to spam your friends with -- it's a 
virtual postcard program. If you're traveling, consider alerting friends with the 
Real Beer Truck. Going on vacation? Try a postcard of Good 'Ol Dad, reaching 
in for a cold one. Feeling grateful? Use the "Thanks A Jillion!" card. Or if you're 
using The Real Beer Page for the first time, consider sending all your friends the 
URL and homepage image. Give the program a whirl at:

         http://realbeer.com/rbp/rbp.postcards.html

GREGG GLASER JOINS THE REAL BEER AUTHORS AREA
Glaser is an Associate Editor for "Yankee Brew News," a columnist for "Modern 
Brewery Age," and a contributor to "Celebrator Beer News," "Beer & Tavern 
Chronicle," "Drink," "Brew" and many other publications. He also speaks at beer 
tastings and dinners, teaches beer appreciation classes and serves as a beer 
consultant to beer distributors, restaurants, taverns and package stores. Gregg 
is a nationally certified beer judge with the Beer Judge Certification Program as 
well as a member of the North American Guild of Beer Writers and the American 
Homebrewers Association. When not writing or talking about or tasting or 
making beer, Gregg seeks out wild edible mushrooms in the woods of New 
England with his wife and son. Get to know Gregg's work better by surfing his 
site at:

        http://realbeer.com/rbp/authors/gregg/glaser.html

DO YOU LIKE CIGARS?
If you like cigars you'll love the convenience of one of our favorite new sites. 
Havana's Fine Cigars, based in Denver, CO has a new online shopping cart in 
place. Nice selection, too, carefully handled in their on-premise humidors. Their 
line-up includes Bahia Vintage, Davidoff, Fonseca, Macanudo Vintage, 
Partagas, Zinos and more. Enjoy:

         http://havanascigars.com

************* REAL BEER PICKS ********************* 

DID SOMEONE SAY  MENDO?
Mendocino Brewing Company, one of Northern California's legacy craft 
brewers, brings their award-winning artwork and labels to their pages with a 
new shopping cart feature. Browse their offerings at:

        http://www.mendobrew.com

OLD WEBSITE TANKED, SEE VERSION 2.0
Twenty Tank Brewing Company, a pioneer brewpub in the real world and 
online, has been giving its site a facelift. Actually, it's more like a face explosion, 
but you'll have to surf the site to see what we mean. Current events, new beers 
and brewmaster, newsletters and even tank postcards are now available at 
version 2.0 of the Twenty Tank website:

          http://www.20tank.com

-------------------------------------------------------- 

QUICKIE EMAIL SURVEY 
Thanks to all who have been replying to our Quickie Surveys. We draw one 
winner each month for the prize of Michael Jackson's The Great Beers of 
Belgium distributed by Vanberg & DeWulf  (http://www.BelgianExperts.com). 
This month, we're throwing some Spaten Tee Shirts in the mix to make your 
chances of winning something even better. Here is this month's question: 

What screen resolution is your monitor set to? This is kind of a technical 
question, so we appreciate in advance any research you have to do to reply. 
Please respond using the appropriate email address (do not include the "e 
mailto:" text):

e mailto:640x480@realbeer.com 
e mailto:800x600@realbeer.com 
e mailto:1024x768@realbeer.com 
e mailto:other@realbeer.com 

RESULTS FROM LAST MONTH'S SURVEY: 
We were hungry last month when we asked you what you would prefer: meat, 
fish, fowl, pork, vegetarian and none. Here's what we learned:

meat -- 49%
chicken - fish -- 41%
vegetarian - 9%

Last month's winner was the carnivorous Joseph A. Veehoff. Congratulations, 
Joseph! Try pairing that red meat with some hearty Belgian beers. Your new 
Jackson book should aid in your selection.

*********** Brewed Fresh For You! ************** 
The Real Beer Page announces a diverse group of brew websites to 
check out: 

Beer Manager          http://www.beermanager.com  (the game!)
Brews Cruise      http://www.oldenberg.com/BrewCrus.html
Elk Grove         http://www.elkgrovebrewing.com 
Golden Gate       http://www.goldengatepark.com 
Horse Brass Pub         http://www.horsebrass.com 
Lucky's Teeth     http://labattblue.com/Lucky/ 
Molokai Brewing   http://www.MolokaiBrewing.com 
Shadow Mtn        http://www.shadowmountain.com
Smutty Nose       http://www.smuttynose.com
Wallaby's         http://www.wallabys.com

************************************************* 

COORS DIVESTS UNIBEV
A Coors spokesperson confirmed that the company is divesting Unibev as an 
independent entity and bringing the Killian and Blue Moon brands under its 
corporate marketing umbrella. Laurie Ciesielski assured BeerWeek that the 
move does not affect brand spending, resources or commitment, rather it 
represents a realignment of efforts towards core marketing and sales resources. 
The former Unibev products will be incorporated into the existing Coors 
marketing structures, ultimately reporting to Bill Weintraub, Senior Vice 
President of Marketing.

NYC BREWPUB OWNER SUED BY FEDS FOR DISCRIMINATION 
The owner of a Times Square brewpub has been accused of sexual 
harassment and racial discrimination. Helen Liftig, owner of Hansen's Time 
Square Brewery has been sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission on behalf of at least 20 former employees. 
The Post apparently reported employees' allegation in August 1996, one month 
after the brewery had opened. A former manager, Pradeep Kawatra, stated he 
had been forced to fire employees once Lustig learned that they were 
minorities. Kawatra and other employees told the EEOC that she had created a 
"hostile work environment," by touching employees inappropriately, refusing to 
hire female bartenders, tell female employees to "throw themselves" at male 
customers to get them to stick around and insisting that the race and ethnic 
origin of applicants be noted. (Source: Gersh Kuntzman, New York Post, April 
29)

BUD'S TACTICS WORK IN CZECH REPUBLIC
The Czech Republic is prepared to transfer rights to the name "Bud" to 
Anheuser-Busch, partially ending a dispute that has gone on since the turn of 
the century (BeerWeek, June 30). At the time the dispute began, A-B was a local 
St. Louis, MO brewery. It is now the best selling beer in the world. Budvar, in 
contrast, is still relatively small, brewing approximately 1% of what Anheuser-
Busch does each year.  A-B had trademarked the name Budweiser in 1876. 
Over the years, both companies have made several agreements as to where 
the name Budweiser can be used. Partly to get around that problem, A-B had 
begun to use the name Bud as well, especially in areas where the Czech 
brewery had Budweiser trademark rights. This agreement has no affect on the 
Budweiser brand name, as used by A-B and Budejovicky Budvar NP (Budweis 
is German for Ceske Budejovice, where the Czech brewery is located). In return 
for releasing the rights to the name "Bud," Anheuser-Busch would commit to buy 
Czech hops for ten years. The company had been buying Czech hops -- had in 
fact bought nearly 18% of the total Czech hop harvest -- but had discontinued 
that practice during the recent negotiations. The new agreement has A-B buying 
8% of the Czech hop harvest over the next ten years. The brewery itself holds 
any remaining trademarks, but, as it is state-owned, negotiations can be held 
without brewery management approval. (Source: David Rocks, Wall Street 
Journal, September 5)

MAJOR CZECH BREWERY SHIFTS
The Czech beer industry was on the "brink of a major corporate takeover battle" 
as a group led by IPB a.s. announced it would make a buyout offer to minority 
shareholders for the country's two largest brewers. IPB, a collection of 
investment funds and Nomura Capital, stated it controlled 66% in Plzensky 
Prazdoj and 58% of Pivovar Radegast. Czech law requires that such an offer be 
made when a shareholder's holdings exceed 50%. Bass Plc, which holds a 
third of Radegast, announced on September 22 that it was offering to buy the 
IPB group. It holds a 55% stake in Prazske Pivovary, the third biggest Czech 
brewery, and is interested in merging its stake in Radegast with Prazske 
Pivovary for a market share of 29%. (BeerWeek, 9/8)

MORE CZECH MOVEMENT: TWO BREWERIES MERGE
The Czech Republic's two largest beer brewers plan to merge in order to 
strengthen their position on world markets. According to the Prague business 
daily, Prazdroj and Radegast are planning the merger but their beers would 
continue to be sold under their traditional trademarks. Plzensky Prazdroj 
currently exports some 12% of its production, Radegast, 10%. Combined, the 
two brewers would account for about 40% of the Czech beer market, above the 
30% limit set by the country's cartel authority, which would have to approve the 
merger. According to a September 3 Reuters dispatch, dateline Prague, 
Britain's Bass plc has cautioned Nomura International of Japan that it (Bass) 
would "campaign vigorously" against any such merger. Graham Staley, Bass 
country manager for the Czech Republic, stated that Bass believes that Nomura 
is only interested in short term financial gain with regard to this merger. Bass 
holds a majority in Praszke Pivovary, the third largest Czech brewer, and is the 
largest single shareholder in Radegast. Bass has stated that its long term goal 
is to "create a strong brewing presence" in the Czech Republic with a 25 to 30 
percent market share. Prazdroj and Radegast combined control 40 percent of 
the domestic beer market.  

************* NEW BOOK REVIEW ************ 

"More Homebrew Favorites." Karl F. Lutzen & Mark Stevens. Storey Publishing. 
Over 250 recipes, organized by style. "A Year of Beer." Published by Brewers 
Publications, a division of Association of Brewers. More than 260 recipes from 
American homebrewers. Organized by seasons, then by beer styles, so that 
beers suitable for winter, for example, are grouped together. Most of the recipes 
are from homebrew competitions. Judges' comments are often included with the 
recipe. 346 pages. ISBN 0-937381-53-5. $14.95.

Online, you might know Karl and Mark as the foundation of the world's greatest 
homebrew site, The Brewery.

         http://www.brewery.org

************************************************* 

EDITORIAL: BEEN CAUGHT READING
As a jaded veteran of ad battles, I caught myself in the middle of an 
extraordinary feat the other day: I was reading an ad on the backcover of a beer 
newspaper. Granted, I was procrastinating from writing this editorial, which is 
motivation enough to count ceiling tiles, let alone read ads. But, I found myself 
wanting to read the ad and smiling in recognition while doing so.

The ad was wall-to-wall copy: usually a "no-no" in layout. Ad studies show 
people don't mind reading copy, they just don't want to know they're reading 
copy. Large blocks of text raise the content-density flags telling our brains to 
shut down to avoid being overtaken by existential, contractual and/or academic 
sludge. This ad was wall-to-wall copy and I was ready for more.

Littered horizontally across the middle of the page were ten floating faces forced 
in various stages of approval or vehement disapproval. (BTW, demographically, 
the field of heads includes three women, one black man and the rest white 
twentysomething guys). The headline read "Seven out of ten people don't like 
our beer. Here's why we're delighted:" Now, I'll give you some of the copy:

"What if you could try a different beer every day? Would you do it? Would you 
willingly subject your taste buds to a daily foray into the unfamiliar? ...the world 
would be a better place if everyone could try a different beer every day. (and 
yes, ... it would be an even better place if someone else was paying). 

"Seems like there are an awful lot of beer companies out there saying, 'The best 
beer in the country.' Or, 'Voted best beer of 1992.' Stuff like that. C'mon. We're 
smarter than that. It's an insult to any real beer lover's intelligence. The truth is, 
there are so many great beers out there. And so many different times, places 
and situations in which a particular beer might be appropriate. 

"Think a second: Do you know anyone who drinks the same beer all the time? If 
you answered, 'The whole country,' you're right (sarcastically, anyway). Craft 
beers are but a mere speck in the ocean of  the total beer consumed in this 
country. Why is that? Pretty simple, really. People are creatures of habit. We find 
a spot. We get comfortable. We stay there. Why leave?"

Should I keep going? The payoff is that the brand isn't for every situation or 
person. But that those who appreciate the craft will understand the value of 
great beer. And should the reader's own craft ever be disparaged, they should 
look the critic and boldly reply: "I assure you sir, that you indeed, are not alone."

The advertisement was for Pete's Wicked Ales, and like the Sam Adam's 
television spots a few years ago that asked the question, "do you love beer?", 
this campaign understands its audience: Bright. Articulate. Critical. Too smart to 
be sucked into some cliched beer advertisement. Looking for adventure within a 
certain range of consumable products. The anti-advertising design turns out to 
be an advertising device -- if you take the time to read the copy you are 
precisely the person they want to speak to.

I think that these are great ads because they do not just serve the brand, they 
serve to elevate AND grow the whole class of the segment. Unlike some of the 
advertising for "aspirational" brands (think of Heineken in the 80's), these ads 
talk to the common person and do not attempt to infuse the product with an 
elitist message. They raise the bar for the others in the class -- "don't get too 
wrapped up in medals and marketing hype" this ad says. And for consumers in 
the class, it tugs on the emotional hooks that had consumers trying Pete's way 
back when alternative craft beers were not available.

Sure, Pete's is contract brewed, but that's really not the point this ad suggests. 
The issue is about character, flavor and an attitude of taking your own path. 
That's a big part of why we like to support the artisan or crafts-person: the artist 
helps us see another (better?) part of ourselves which in this case is the part 
that is not over-standardized or industrialized.

Like Miller's "Macrobrew" ads, these ads say to their core consumer, "It's okay to 
align with this brand." Pete's Brewing Company will go through some 
challenging times over the next couple of years, as will any brewer in the middle 
of the specialty segment. By our read, Pete's will be fine -- they've got some 
pretty smart ad folks working on their current and next generation strategies. I'm 
looking forward to seeing their next ad. 

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