ScotCo goes Extra Cold

Scottish Courage, the number one brewer in the UK, is to introduce Extra Cold variants to all the beers in its portfolio from this month.

Having already introduced the technology for Foster's, John Smith's and Kronenbourg Blanc, now the brewer's two premium lager brands, Kronenbourg 1664 and San Miguel, and its cider brand Strongbow, will be offered "Extra Cold" - or in 1664's case "Cold Premiere".

This follows the success of Foster's Super Chilled, which has taken significant market share in the Extra Cold market since it launched in May last year.

Part of the reason for this success, according to ScotCo, is the introduction of its innovative water-cooled font for Foster's, John Smith's and Kronenbourg Blanc.

Extra Cold has been the big success story in standard lager over the last two years, with both Carlsberg Extra Cold and Foster's Super Chilled following the example of Carling Extra Cold, which was launched in June 2002.

David Goadby, customer marketing director for ScotCo, said: "Cold is the number one factor in determining drinker satisfaction and taste preference among beer and cider drinkers alike.

"Scottish Courage can now offer a complete portfolio of long alcoholic drinks (LADs) that are consistently dispensed at 3 degrees C.

"Cold variants are now sold in 37,000 UK bars, creating a new sub-sector which has added significant category value.

"They have performed particularly impressively in the standard lager sector, where they have driven a 2.5 per cent sales increase over the part year, helping to reverse the long-held dominance of premium lager."