King Cobra to target gastropub market
Cobra Beer has launched what is believed to be the first commercially produced bottle-conditioned lager, targeting gastropubs with an eight per cent ABV brew.
King Cobra is designed for sharing by diners and is packaged in deep brown 750ml champagne-style bottles. It is expected to sell across the bar or at the table for around £6.
According to Cobra's business development director Chris Rendle, the innovation is aimed at "the discerning lager drinker".
"We were conscious that there wasn't a strong lager on the UK market that was easy to drink so we decided to create something with the drinkability of Cobra to put that right," he said. "Our first entry point into the on-trade will be gastropubs and some style bars. We definitely see it as being drunk with food and being shareable - you could even put the bottle in an ice bucket."
King Cobra's appearance - not to mention its price - should put it beyond any accusations that it could possibly encourage binge-drinking, despite its super-strength ABV.
Cobra wanted a black bottle but ran into problems with Spanish cava Freixenet, which owns the rights to black champagne-style bottles. So Cobra opted for a dark brown glass with a label printed in gold.
Beer connoisseurs, even ale drinkers, might also appreciate the extended production process. Cobra, which has released alcohol-free and low carbohydrate versions of the "Indian" beer in the past year, has again turned to its Belgian brewing partner Palm to make the new beer, this time taking advantage of its expertise in bottle conditioning.
King Cobra, based on the recipe for regular Cobra but with more ingredients in the "pot" to reach the higher strength, is first slowly fermented to 7.9 per cent ABV in Palm's Polish plant.
It is then shipped to the Rodenbach brewery in Flanders, where it is bottled and dosed with a second yeast.
After that King Cobra spends two weeks in a special "warm room" during which it undergoes a secondary fermentation.
The new beer is available to the trade now.
