Boozin’ Blog

I’m a snobbish beer geek. I know it; I own it. Therefore I tend to look askance at anything a big brewer does be it Anheuser-Busch, Diego, Miller or Inbev. I always suspect that they are up to something besides making better beer.

I’ve softened my view a little in the last couple of years. Obviously someone is drinking these beers and I’ve talked to more than one beer lover who prefers the taste and qualities of a Bud over the latest APA from the local craft brewer. And some of the big brewers have tried - to varying degrees of success - to include themselves in the craft beer movement. The Michelob brand, for instance, made some very decent porter, wheat and pale ale beers last year.

But that hasn’t stopped me from looking a little too closely at what the big brewers do to move product. And so when Guinness and Coors recently launched campaigns in the US to push more product my fevered braid couldn’t help but compare them.

First, there was Guinness. As it turns out this year is the 250th anniversary of the signed of the famous 9,000 lease that A. Guinness signed for his Dublin brewery, which is more museum/gift shop than a brewery these days. So, in addition to other things, the brewer is celebrating by brewing a distributing a specially brewed stout. (I tried it. It’s nice enough, a sweet stout with heavy chocolate notes.)

This is a pretty traditional way for breweries to celebrate. The country wins a war, encounters a bicentennial or some other achievement and breweries often will brew a special beer to celebrate. (This is how Dos Equis was born.) Guinness 250 Stout is a nice way to celebrate and to get the word out to consumers.

Second is Coors Light. They have nothing to celebrate; nothing new to announce. But summer’s almost here so they have to do something, right? OK, remember the ‘cold activation’ bottles that they pushed the last couple of summers? Right, well they’ve added that gizmo to they’re cans and launched a marketing campaign. I shared what I thought of this worthless gesture at my About.com beer blog.

Clearly big brewers are not all created equal. I’m not a diehard fan of Guinness but in this particular contest they clearly win. They’ve taken a real event and reacted/used it in a very traditional way. Plus they introduced a new beer - my very favorite thing a brewer can do. Coors, on the other hand, invented a completely manufactured event jut to get people to take notice of them at the beginning of summer.

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With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner my mind has been turning to the good black stuff. Guinness is a unique beer brand in that it is so connected to both a country and a holiday. No other beer brand comes close in either respect.

Sure, there are a few brands like Corona and Fosters whose marketers have tried to make something of their countries of origin. But even a tagline that we all know like “Australian for beer” can’t approach the relationship between Guinness and Ireland.

As well known and loved as is Guinness I’m surprised at how few of its fans realize that there is more than one sort of Guinness. It’s true. In The Brewmaster’s Table Garret Olive says that there are 19 versions of Guinness. It is brewed in 40 countries and sold in 135!

For most of us there are two main versions of Guinness available. Guinness Draught, the version on tap and responsible for the famous 180 second pour, is probably the first that pops into most beer drinkers head. It is the Guinness with the thick creamy head and served at bars and pubs worldwide. Its flavor is pleasantly dry and coffee like. It feels soft and creamy on the tongue. This is the same recipe as the Guinness Draught-style Stout sold in bottles and cans.

But there’s another bottle, isn’t there. Those shorter Guinness bottles are Foreign Extra Stout. Extra is a completely different recipe and different style of stout. It has a much more assertive flavor, tends to be more carbonated and is higher in alcohol. I’ve never seen Extra on draught; only in those stubby brown bottles.

I enjoy both versions of Guinness. Draught style tends to pair better with food since it’s softer flavor profile doesn’t overwhelm some dishes like Extra does. Draught is also a better session beer since it’s lower in alcohol. But Extra can be very nice, too. Sometimes one wants a stout to slap their taste buds around a bit and Extra is just the beer to do it!

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Did you know that Inbev owned Labatt USA? Yeah, me neither. I’m not saying I’m surprised. It’s just that that little factoid hadn’t floated my way.

Now we all know that Labatt is Canadian. This is something that its marketers are determined not to let us forget. Labatt USA is the brewer’s legal presence in the US. It handles importing the beer, arranging for its distribution and its marketing.

While under Inbev’s control Labatt USA moved from Connecticut to Buffalo, NY. According to the article, Labatt and Anheuser-Busch brands are the two biggest sellers in Buffalo so this is a logical move. It seems likely to me that Inbev would have continued its control of the successful brand but for a requirement by the justice department that they had to unload the Blue. Apparently someone somewhere had the sense to observe that perhaps one company shouldn’t control 99.99% of the beer sold in the US.

(That’s a little joke by exaggeration for my literalistic readers. I’m aware that ABI doesn’t control quite that much but you’ve got to admit that they control a lot!)

So the company had to be sold. For a while late last year this caused some concerns but a buyer has been found. KPS Capital Partners, a New York City based private equity firm, now owns Labatt USA as well as High Falls and a license for the Seagram’s Cooler Escapes and Smooth brands. So, there won’t be any interruption in Labatt’s supply lines but there are still a few questions in the air.

Inbev had agreed to do some of the brewing of Labatt in the US. This isn’t that unusual in the business of big beer. For instance, despite its strong Irish image, very little of the Guinness drank world-wide is actually brewed in Ireland.

But Labatt has more than just a strong Canadian image. They’ve gone so far as to use the phrase “imported daily from Canada.” They would certainly lose some cache if this were no longer actually 100% true. Whether or not KPS will brew Labatt in the US is still unresolved.

Another problem is that extracting one beer company from another isn’t as easy as having the lawyers draw up the papers. US distribution is a complex and changes from state to state. In many places Labatt is distributed on Anheuser-Busch trucks. It’s going to take some time to get all of the changes in place before the brand will be entirely free of ABI.

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What’s the right beer for St. Patrick’s Day? Probably 90% of you said stout and a further 90% of that probably thought of a lovely pint of Guinness. But stout is brewed by almost every brewery in the world and there are many different styles of stout. And what better time to take a look at them than St. Patrick’s Day?

Dry Stout – This is the stout that most people probably think of when they think of stout. It is what you get when you buy a pint of Guinness on draught. Also known as Irish stout it’s no surprise that this particular stout flows the most freely here in the middle of March. It’s called dry because there is little detectable sweetness in the flavor. Although it is there it is covered up by the coffee-like bitterness of black roasted barley.

Sweet Stout – Also called Milk Stout it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this style tastes sweeter than dry. In most cases the sweetness comes from lactose, the sugar found in milk, because it isn’t fermentable by brewers yeast. With the bitterness toned down a bit this style is often enjoyed by those that find Guinness “a bit too much.”

Oatmeal Stout – This stout is brewed with oatmeal which gives it a sweeter taste, though oatmeal stouts are not typically as sweet as milk stouts. The oatmeal also gives the beer a full, silky mouthfeel.

Export Stout – Originally this stout was brewed with extra hops and extra barley making it higher in alcohol and bitterer than other stouts. Like India Pale Ale it was brewed this way for export as the extra alcohol and hops acted as preservative agents and protected it from spoilage. Naturally more stuff also meant more flavor and the style caught on. These days Export Stout retains the flavor but not the higher alcohol.

Russian Imperial Stout – This is the stout for big beer lovers. Historically this style always packed a punch with more flavor and alcohol even than export. Today’s brewers – especially American craft brewers – use the style as they compete to see who can cram the most flavor and alcohol into one brew. Imperial definitely is not for the faint hearted but if you want a serious stout experience this St. Patrick’s Day then this is the brew for you.

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As you dust off your green plastic bowler hat, shamrock suspenders and leprechaun lapel pin with the flashing eyes take a moment to ask yourself if St. Patrick’s Day should be an official holiday. Guinness says that it should be, at least in the US.

The petition for Proposition 3-17 points out that more people of Irish descent live in the US than the entire island of Ireland. It says that more and more people celebrate the day every year and makes the argument that creating a national holiday would cut down on the number of revelers that call in “sick” so that they might celebrate the day. (Of course the next step in that logic is that the following day should also be a national holiday to cut down on the number of revelers that call in legitimately sick.)

OK, I know that this is a marketing gimmick but name a holiday that isn’t somehow tied to commerce. Don’t even get me started on Easter and those fat-cats at Cadbury! Besides, St. Patrick seems as legitimate of a reason to celebrate as many other holidays that we fall all over ourselves to commemorate. I signed the petition; you should, too.

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I hate to start this blog off on a bitter note but I can’t deny that I’m a little miffed that I wasn’t picked as Four Points Sheraton’s CBO (Chief Beer Officer). I mean, not only am I insanely qualified because I really, really like beer but, I wanted this job because I really, really like beer.

OK, so Scott Kerkmans, the guy picked for the position, seems to have a passing interest in the stuff, too. He’s a homebrewer, he is a certified beer judge and he is part of the new beer magazine, Draft, that launched last year. He seems able to speak eloquently about beer and he received more votes than the other three finalists in an open election. On the other hand, I should have been picked because I really, really like beer; or did I say that already?

As CBO Scott will be Four Points Sheraton’s ambassador for beer. Why does a hotel chain need such a thing? Well, it’s part of their Best Brews campaign that they launched in 2006. The hotel chain is featuring a wide selection of beer including global and national favorites such as Guinness, Pilsner Urquel, Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams and others. Each hotel will offer a unique selection as they reach out to regional brewers.

So, good luck with the new gig, Scott, but don’t get too comfortable. I’ve got my eye on that position and if you fail to perform your duties I’ll be right there to snatch it up!

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