Pour better or worse

Ben McFarland takes a look at the latest initiatives in the world of beer as brewers concentrate on 'Theatre of Dispense' in a bid to steal the show.

Beer is beer. There's a limit to the amount you can tamper and tinker with it. Every now and again a new idea may come along - ice beers, nitrokegs and, more lately, wheat beers spring to mind, but ultimately the brewers are unable to experiment to the same extent as their spirit counterparts who can pioneer until their heart's content.

As a result, the attempts by brewers to indulge their urges for innovation have focused predominantly on the much publicised quality issue in recent years and, in particular, on new ways to serve the beer and improve what is referred to in marketing jargon as the "Theatre of Dispense".

All the major brewers are devoting huge amounts of money to dispense technology as they look to achieve consistency in temperature, taste and presentation whether the drinker is in John O'Groats or Lands End.

In the last 12 months, Interbrew, Coors, Carlsberg-Tetley and Scottish Courage have all unveiled a new way of pouring a pint.

Coors​

Coors has quite a pedigree when it comes to dispense innovation having introduced new concepts for both Caffrey's and Carling Premier in the 1990s, but it raised the most eyebrows with the launch of Arc, a dispense system so unique it even made it onto BBC's Tomorrow's World!

"Caffrey's and Carling Premier were extremely novel ideas and broke some of the rules of dispense when they were launched," said David Quain, head of dispense and development. "But we really peaked with Arc - producing a beer that is served at below freezing has never been done before and is truly unique."

The brainchild of a PhD student on a work placement at the brewer, Arc is poured from a patented high-tech font at -2°C and was launched in the summer of 2000.

The drink is stored at high pressure to keep it from freezing solid. It is then poured from the fully automated pump before pressure is released and a blast of ultrasonic waves triggers the formation of ice crystals around the beer's gas bubbles.

Having conducted a trial launch within the M25 corridor, Coors is now in the process of tweaking the technology behind Arc in an attempt to make the product more consistent.

A new version of Arc is earmarked for release later this year with wider distribution planned.

"The refrigeration was a bit big and we're looking at ways of reducing the size of the kit," said David. "The proposition is still the same but the consistency and the quality is going to be even greater."

Carlsberg-Tetley​

Notwithstanding the arrival of the lovely Helena Christiensen as brand ambassador, the most significant feature of the £14m Carlsberg relaunch last year was the unveiling of a new-fangled Vortex Tap.

The Vortex delivers a pint in 14 seconds, 30 per cent faster than a conventional tap, and creates a tighter head that's designed to last longer and create greater "lacing" of the glass.

The technology was devised by students at Birmingham University who discovered that counterbalancing the flow of beer inside the head of the tap generates a low pressure zone which separates some of the carbon dioxide from the liquid.

As the beer leaves the tap, it passes through a vortex breaker where the gas and beer are recombined, leading to a tighter head that reportedly stays longer.

Carlsberg has found that outlets stocking the new tap have experienced an increase in sales of Carlsberg and Carlsberg Export by approximately 10 per cent.

Interbrew​

Waiting for a pint of stout has long been an accepted tradition in pubs, but Murphy's has rewritten the rules with the recent introduction of a new font that delivers a pint of the black stuff in less than half a minute.

Having taken over the UK licence for brewing, marketing and distribution of the number two stout, Interbrew abandoned the traditional two-part pour in favour of its Fastflow system as a part of a £9m relaunch.

Fastflow is delivered using technology which dispenses the brand with less agitation and features a new creamer plate.

The no-punches-pulled-advertising that has followed, featuring skeletons struggling to kill time as they wait for a pint of stout (pictured), poked fun at Guinness's previous "Good things come to those who wait" marketing strategy and accompanied a major roll-out of the new Murphy's font.

"What was once regarded as a strength of the stout sector has become a negative factor as far as consumers are concerned," said Iain Newell, market controller for ales and stouts at Interbrew.

Scottish Courage​

It's not often that you read about a major national brewer saving publicans money, but that's what Scottish Courage is aiming to do with the national roll-out of its "head injection tap" (HIT) system.

Described as "the biggest innovation in beer dispense since the widget", the HIT system claims to boost revenue of an average Foster's stockist by approximately £3,692 a year (see below).

"We believe this is the biggest and most significant innovation in beer dispense and presentation that the industry has ever seen," says Stuart Catchpole, innovation and new product development director at Scottish Courage.

Scottish Courage is investing £10m in the roll-out of the new HIT system across its Foster's, Kronenbourg 1664 and Miller beer brands and 33,000 taps have already been installed in 10,000 outlets as part of the brewer's efforts to eradicate the problem of poor quality in the draught lager sector.

"The draught beer market has declined by six million barrels in the last 10 years - in lost sales that equates to more than 4.7 million pints a day. Inconsistent product quality and presentation are undoubtedly key drivers behind this decline - with warm, flat, unappetising beer alienating consumers".

The HIT system, initially introduced as part of a relaunch for Miller last year, allows licensees and barstaff to pour a pint without the need for agitation (moving the glass around to get the bubbles going).

Stuart says: "There's no need for all the swirling around that knocks out all the CO2, which means less fobbing and less wastage."

Once the pint is poured, a tight smooth head can then be laid across the surface of the beer at the touch of a button, locking in the CO2 in the process.

Scottish Courage is supporting the HIT launch with a number of trade and consumer initiatives, including a barstaff training programme, a mystery drinker promotion that rewards the correct use of the tap and a new TV advert for Foster's, "Lovepump", in which the HIT stars alongside the Japanese robot.

"HIT is not just another new tap. It revolutionises the art of pouring a perfect pint and, as such, it calls for a cultural change. We are under no illusions about the scale of the task we face in 'mobilising' barstaff but we are delighted with the progress we have made in this area to date," adds Stuart.

"Some will say that they don't need a new tap to put a head on lager but you cannot replicate the premium quality presentation that HIT delivers with a standard tap."

Throughput growth​

• an average Foster's stockist sells 63 barrels a year
• a 10 per cent volume difference vs a venue without a non HIT tap
• Foster's will deliver an extra 1,809 pints per annum
• at a £2 per pint retail selling price = £3,079 per annum extra revenue to the licensee (excl