Beer

They come for craft beer and stay for pilsner

13-Jul-2016 - Last updated on 28-Sep-2021 at 07:15 GMT

Craft beer drinkers are going to specialist pubs for the beer range, but are staying for less-challenging tasting beers like pilsners according to Veltins managing director of vertical drinks Steve Holt.

Holt, who is the 192-year-old German beer maker’s UK representative, told The Morning Advertiser (MA) in this video that pilsner was more accessible than some of the more hop-forward craft beers, while having the same “crafted” credentials.

The MD, who also runs his own brewery and pub in Leeds, added: “There’s a lot of focus on the craft sector with very challenging tastes and flavours.”

Pilsner exclusive:

Pilsner for the on-trade
Last month, Molson Coors-owned Staropramen launched a new light 4% ABV pilsner for the on-trade called Prahva, which was revealed for the first time exclusively to the MA.
The crisp, new brew was made available on draught to the on-trade on 2 June and is made using two specially selected malts, as well as three Czech hops.
At the time of the launch, Molson Coors portfolio brand director Ali Pickering said: "Pravha is the unexpected side of Staropramen – an unexpectedly refreshing drinking experience that you might not find from a Czech pilsner."

Hop-forward and high strength

He added: “A lot of the beers are very hop-forward and have high strength. Those outlets [stocking them] do tend to attract a wide range of consumers and not every consumer wants that level of challenge on their taste buds.”

“We often find that the pilsner probably has the greater volume [of production], but the craft beers attract the audience.”

Watch the rest of this video to learn about the impact of German beer in the UK on-trade, which Holt says in increasing in consumer choice.

Detrimental

Meanwhile, Holt’s claims echo those of competitor Czech beer brand Pilsner Urquell. The brewer’s beer master Robert Lobovsky told the MA in an exclusive podcast that stronger craft brews were detrimental to sessionable beers.

He said: “In the world of craft beers, where scope has become all about different flavours, sessionable is something that seems to have disappeared over the past couple of years to a certain extent.”

Customers wanted to try new, interesting and high-quality beers, but they also wanted to option to stick with one beer, he added.

Read more about Veltins’ presence in the UK in another story later today.