Beer given image makeover by Bass
Initiative launched to boost profile after sales dip to 30-year low
Bass Brewers has embarked upon a crusade to transform the national profile and image of beer.
In light of beer sales hitting a 30-year low and the increasing popularity of wine and premium packaged spirits (PPS), Bass has launched the "Beer Naturally" initiative in an effort to champion all types of beer including cask ale, lager and nitrokeg beers.
Mark Hunter, managing director at Bass Brewers, told thePublican.com: "The health benefits of wine are widely publicised but beer is more often presented as an old-fashioned drink for lager louts.
"Beer is a natural product and, as such, should be the natural choice for people in the UK."
The Burton-based brewer has teamed up with Men's Health magazine to promote beer as a fat-free natural product in an effort to dispel the widely-held myth that beer is bad for you.
Mr Hunter said: "Bass is to incorporate tasting notes, endorsed by beer expert Michael Jackson, into the packaging for all brands while coasters with the 'Beer Naturally' logo, branded glassware, polo shirts and aprons will also be introduced into pubs."
Outlets from Ember Inns and the Innkeeper chain, as well as a number of independents, have begun a 12-week trial designed to prove that greater beer appreciation improves both the drinker and the publican.
A Beer Naturally website, providing fact sheets and beer appreciation tips, will accompany the scheme.
Mr Hunter revealed that as part of the new scheme, the company is also looking at producing a beer to cater especially for the female palette.
The campaign comes just months after the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) unveiled its 100 per cent NaturAle initiative, also aimed at promoting cask-conditioned ale.
"CAMRA and Cask Marque focus on one type of beer but we must be careful not to denigrate other kinds of beer," said Mr Hunter. "Let's celebrate the beer market as a whole, whether it is cask, keg or lager."
CAMRA's Iain Loe said: "Big brewers have invested heavily in one or two nitrokeg beers and cask ale has felt a little hard done by in the past, but we welcome any promotion of beer."
Related stories:
UK beer demand in slump (21 September 2001)
