InBev puts four per cent draught Beck's on trial
InBev is trialling a four per cent draught version of Beck's in an attempt to gain a stronger foothold in standard lager.
But the brewer has strongly denied speculation it will be scaling down its Castlemaine XXXX brand as a result.
Concern has been raised by industry insiders that Beck's could replace XXXX as the company's main standard lager brand.
However, an InBev UK spokeswoman said it remained committed to the brand. "If Beck's four per cent does come to market, the two brands will be clearly differentiated from each other in terms of their target market and therefore the type of outlet we would recommend to stock them," she said.
"We remain 100 per cent committed to the development of XXXX - just in the past two months we've introduced Castlemaine XXXX Xtra cold. And we're supporting the brand with new advertising in 2006. And it's just been signed up to be the official beer or Rugby League.
"Finally, we have a licence to produce 'XXXX' until 2008 and we have every intention of continuing our successful partnership with Lion Nathan beyond that time frame." She also confirmed that the five per cent bottled version of Beck's would remain on sale. "The new beer is being imported from Germany where it is brewed to the same Reinheitsgebot German purity laws as five per cent ABV Beck's, and is part of our continued innovation drive.
"This trial does not affect availability of five per cent Beck's which continues to be marketed and distributed by InBev UK."
It is believed InBev is looking to find a strong standard lager brand, something it has been missing since Heineken Cold Filtered was withdrawn in 2002. Its replacement, Castlemaine XXXX while helping to fulfil contractual obligations has suffered in the face of the Extra Cold revolution.
However, there is concern among industry insiders that any removal of XXXX will not help licensees who get good a cash margin on the Australian brand. There are suggestions that the more premium Beck's could force licensees to put up to 15p extra on a pint of standard lager in their pubs.
The new brew is being tested in 50 pubs and bars in five cities across the country. Phoebe Stubbs, staff supervisor at the Jolly Gardeners in Putney, South London, said the trial was going very well: "We sell it on the bar between Staropramen Granite (a dark beer) and Heineken and it is going really well. It has been on a month now and we are pleased with it."
Tom Evans, assistant manager of the Ropewalk bar in Nottingham, agreed. "It is very popular in here," he said. "The InBev reps are in here a lot making sure everything is running smoothly. It is obviously an important trial for them."
