Hofmeister crowdfunding campaign passes target with 26 days remaining
Older readers may well remember the famous phrase ‘Follow the bear’ in the ’80s TV advert for Bavarian beer Hofmeister. Now, the revamped lager has launched a crowdfunding campaign to encourage investment of £600,000 to help it achieve its goal of £10m turnover by 2025. The campaign has already smashed its target with 26 days left to run and is hoping to accelerate plans with the excess investment.
The brand said it has spotted a gap in the market to catapult a Bavarian beer to the same level of success seen by its counterparts from other European countries and added that despite Bavaria being a brewing powerhouse its beer is missing from the premium world lager brand line-up.
Investors can buy shares for £4 each – exactly the same type of shares as the owners. The business said it has tripled turnover and the number of stockists in the past 12 months and is now worth £9.3m.
The new Hofmeister was brought back to life by two British drinks entrepreneurs, Richard Longhurst and Spencer Chambers, who bought the brand from Heineken in 2016. They then travelled to Bavaria to find a local brewery that could help reinvent it as an authentic, locally brewed, high-quality Helles lager made in line with Germany purity laws that date back to 1516.
“The power of this brand is incredible,” said joint chief executive Longhurst. “It’s hard to contemplate and understand. The potential scale is enormous. Anyone who grew up with Hofmeister has got a genuine affection for it. It just makes you smile and that is very special.”
The crowdfunding campaign, which has been launched on Seedrs.com, also sees the return of ‘George’, the iconic bear who became the face and personality of the brand in its heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Gone is the pork pie hat, and in its place is a fully grown-up, 7ft bear who features in an entertaining chat-show video discussing why people should invest in the brand.
“It was always our intention to bring back the bear, but it needed to be the right time and occasion, and be fitting for 2021,” said Chambers. “It’s another massive milestone for us.”
The Seedrs campaign page can be viewed at www.seedrs.com/hofmeister.
Bone Daddies and Deya collaborate on new beer Hiro
Japanese ramen restaurant group Bone Daddies has teamed up with craft brewer Deya to produce a new beer.
Hiro, which has been named in homage to the group’s mascot who features on the can alongside Deya’s signature croc, is a crisp, hazy IPA made with Mosaic, Simcoe and a whip of Citra hops – and is said to pair perfectly with a bowl of ramen. The beer is priced at £7.75 per 500ml can (4.2% ABV) and is available from Bone Daddies and Deya’s website.
Bone Daddies head of marketing Tanith West said: “Hiro is created by a bunch of Bone Daddies’ beer-loving crew with the help and guidance of the brilliant team at Deya, and is brewed at their flagship brewery in Cheltenham. The teams spent time working together, learning about hops, tasting a load of delicious beer and creating the flavour profile, artwork and name for this session IPA.”
Deya’s Alex Sewell added: “The end result is a sessionable IPA with Mosaic and Simcoe hops to ensure tons of freshness and a balanced accompaniment to any dish on the menu at Bone Daddies, but particularly their signature ramen.”
Beavertown enters hard seltzer market
Beavertown Brewery has launch its first ever range of hard seltzers called Ghost in four ABVs and flavours – meaning there are eight types in total.
The collection, which is available at Beavertown’s Corner Pin pub in north London and its online shop, comprises four hard seltzer flavours in different strengths. They are said to be “naturally fruity, bubbly, low-cal, vegan and gluten-free” and an ideal alternative to Christmas prosecco.
The Ghost variants are 2.5% ABV (46Kcal) in lemon and raspberry flavours, 4% ABV (73kCal) in peach and tropical flavours, 5.5% ABV (101kCal) in peach and lemon flavours and 8% ABV (149kCal) in tropical and raspberry flavours.
DropZone Brewery steps into the spirits world
DropZone Brewery, a company founded and run by a group of veterans, has stepped into the spirits market with the launch of its new gin, Valkyrie.
Known for its beers, the brewery pledges 20% of all profits to help veterans through its charity partners, but the gin marks a step-change for the group. With an ABV of 59%, the naval strength Valkyrie is made using a vapour infusion method to enhance the taste of the botanicals, which have been steeped for 24 hours prior.
The UK organic neutral grain spirit is said to capture the botanical flavours through vapour infusion rectification to produce an aromatic liquid, all distilled in a traditional copper pot to keep it “old school”.
DropZone founder Sean Crawford said: “Having only launched in April of this year, we’ve been truly humbled by how our beers have been received and this is what made us want to explore the spirits market. With Valkyrie, we truly feel like we have produced a gin that is unlike anything else currently available in the UK and we hope it’s a huge success so we can continue to support our veteran community for years and years to come.”
DropZone Brewery currently has three staple brews on its roster, Red On, Green On Go and Buckshee and it plans to produce another spirit in the near future. Valkryie is priced at £55 per 70cl bottle.
Witch Kings Rum launches liqueur range
Manchester-based spirits Witch Kings Rum has launched a range of rum liqueurs to the market.
The brand, based in Ancoats was founded in 2020 by Maximillian Bradbury and Brandon Bissell, looking to tell the story of quality ingredients and quality rum through the lens of fantasy, art and creativity.
It said the change in perception of rum from a spirit that is drunk mixed, to one that can be sipped, continues in the UK. Driving UK rum sales though are the flavoured and spiced rums, which are more appealing to younger drinkers than traditional white and dark rums.
Having built a solid reputation in Manchester hosting a number of successful pop-ups, including Witch Kings Rum cocktails bars and live music pop-ups, the brand now looks to expand firmly into the consumer market, looking for retail listings and building a solid portfolio of on-trade listings.
Witch Kings Rum has “taken the finest pure single rum from Ninefold Distillery, glimmering with rich caramel notes, and combined this with fresh fruit infusions to create complex rum liqueurs full of magically balanced flavours”.
The Witch Kings Rum range consists of Bohemian Dreams – Blueberry, Pineapple & Mint; Sunset Solstice – Peach, Ginger & Lime; and Fires of the Wild – Strawberry, Chilli & Lemon. The brand has also recently unveiled a coffee rum liqueur, Antimatter.
Molson Coors’ lagers set to roar with Tigers
Molson Coors has announced a new partnership with rugby union team Leicester Tigers, which will see Carling and the recently launched European-style lager Madri Excepcional available at bars throughout the stadium.
The deal will see the UK’s best-selling lager Carling, and the recently launched European-style lager Madri Excepcional served at bars throughout the Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium during all Premiership fixtures.
The portfolio of Molson Coors also includes Coors and Doom Bar along with ciders, ready-to-drink cocktails and hard seltzers.
Leicester Tigers head of business development Mark Davies said: “We’re delighted to welcome Molson Coors into the club to work with their Carling and Madri Excepcional brands.
“Carling is a popular lager within sports stadia up and down the country while we are particular excited in stocking Madri Excepcional throughout the bars in the Tigers stadium moving forward, and we’re confident it will prove a popular addition to the line-up on our bars.”
Phil Langley, at Molson Coors national account manager for regional brewers added: “We have partnerships with some of the most prestigious sports clubs across the UK and Leicester Tigers undoubtedly falls into that category. We’re looking forward to kicking off this new partnership and supporting the club.”
Hall & Woodhouse scoops gold, more beer planned for 2022
Dorset brewer and pub operator Hall & Woodhouse has won a gold medal for its Milk Made stout, which was launched during lockdown, as part of the company’s ongoing new product development programme.
Milk Made, a 5.2% ABV milk stout, took top spot in the speciality beer class at the International Brewing Awards (IBA). Launched in 2020, Milk Made is one of several new, contemporary beers created under Hall & Woodhouse’s ambitious new product development programme to complement the core Badger Beers brand. There were also IBA accolades for two Badger cask ales –a gold for Badger Red Roaster and a silver for Badger Fursty Ferret.
Drinks marketing manager Matt Woodhouse said: “Milk Made is the first dark beer we’ve brewed in Blandford for some years. We think it’s ‘udderly’ delicious, but it’s great to have that confirmed by the expert IBA judges. We have hugely experienced and talented brewing teams working on all our beers, and, of course, it’s equally gratifying for the IBA to recognise the quality and craft of our cask range.
“It’s an exciting time for Hall & Woodhouse, as we continue to develop new and innovative craft beers that complement our established strength as a brewer of fine traditional bottled and cask ales. We have exciting NPD plans for 2022, to appeal to new and existing Badger Beers drinkers, and it’s great to be going into a busy new year with these prestigious awards under our belt.”
If you have any new products that are being released to the on-trade, email the details with high resolution images before Thursday at midday for potential inclusion on Friday’s article to gary.lloyd@wrbm.com.
