Thwaites to launch one Hell of a beer

Blackburn-based brewer Daniel Thwaites has made a "hellish" attempt to reinvigorate the standard lager category with a new launch.

Kaltenberg Hell, which comes from the same stable as Kaltenberg Royal lager, is a 4.1 per cent lager and is brewed under licence at the Thwaites brewery.

The beer has been on test in Thwaites' managed division for the last six weeks and has doubled sales volumes in that time.

Last month it won a silver medal in class one of the International Lager Competition at the Brewing Industry International Awards.

Despite being called Hell, Thwaites is not encouraging associations with fire and brimstone. The name actually comes from the German word "Helles", which means "bright in colour".

The standard lager category has suffered in recent years with the relentless growth of premium lager brands such as Stella Artois, and the high levels of investment put into brands such as Grolsch and Kronenbourg 1664 by Coors and Scottish Courage respectively. However, recent statistics have shown things might be changing. According to AC Nielsen, in the year up to May 2005 standard lager volumes grew by two per cent while premium lager volumes fell by three per cent.

Brian Jenkins, marketing director at Thwaites, certainly feels standard lager is on the verge of a major comeback.

He said: "Hell has proved immensely popular and the 4.1 per cent ABV has received very good feedback from people, pubs and most importantly their customers. People believe it has the right taste profile for the mainstream category."

Lee Williams, brands marketing manager at Thwaites, said a great deal of time and money had been invested in the launch - seen through the new "premium" fonts that will accompany the roll out of the beer.

Mr Williams said he hoped that as a result of the new fonts consumers would associate the brand with a premium image, alongside its standard ABV.