Lager touts need to up the ante

If necessity is the mother of invention, beleaguered brewers need to employ all the surrogates they can get - and quick.

Two exceptional years on the trot - one scorching, accompanied by the World Cup, the other dismal with few breaks between rain for as much as a friendly kick about - have opened a chasm so wide some could be in danger of falling over the edge.

Predictions that summer ale sales were down less than lager say all that's needed about how unexpectedly the world has turned. Extra cold beers - the offspring of the last desperate attempt to reinvent beer - have been neglected by consumers along with icy cider.

Now some ale brewers are rattling the cage, arguing that mainstream lagers have fallen so far that drinkers will never again hold them in the same esteem.

The lager boys are certainly extremely worried. As we head into the coldest, darkest months and the smoking ban begins to bite, it could be next summer before they get a chance to rack up some much needed sales.

Ale and stout, on the other hand, are relatively buoyant, skipping into autumn with unusual momentum.

Now the big lagers must use their

often considerable marketing budgets to

strengthen relationships with consumers, which means calling a halt to the current kitchen-sink approach.

Brands have bought up all the seats on the rugby, football, film and music bandwagons - each valuable in their own rights, but

confusing when used all at once.

Pubcos are heavily lager reliant, but, like consumers, need a clear message as to what a brand is about.

Many big players are perilously failing to achieve this, leaving the door wide open, not just for ale, but for the significant number of foreign lagers hungry for market share and with new stories to tell, to overtake them on the inside.

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