Keeping quality in Czech

Some brewers are concerned that smaller companies are just using the country of origin as a badge of quality, rather than maintaining the standard of the actual beer

The global potential for packaged beer sales is raising concerns in some parts of the industry that product quality could be sacrificed in favour of a quick buck.

The UK supplier of Czech Budweiser Budvar claims the pending acquisition of a clutch of the country's breweries by Heineken has led to a "consolidation binge", with other brewers selling out to Czech entrepreneurs.

Tony Jennings, chief executive officer of Budweiser Budvar UK, says that "the uncritical acceptance by many UK drinkers that Czech-brewed is inevitably a guarantee of excellence" is adding to the stampede.

The implication is that some smaller brewers are pumping out any old rubbish into export markets, safe in the knowledge that the international reputation of Czech beer will help it sell.

"These guys are using local knowledge to buy up small breweries and then popping them into their keep- nets, with a view to making a future handsome killing," says Jennings. "The problem is that these are money men, not brewers, and they are little concerned with the quality of what they brew."

Although unwilling to name names, Jennings says some breweries are using inferior materials in the knowledge that they could charge a premium price in export markets.

He adds: "Quality is very variable — fine one week and totally different the next. It's all over the show."

Another cloud on the horizon, as far as Budvar is concerned, is the Czech Government's desire to extend the EU protected geographical indication (PGI) for products from Budvar's home town of Ceske Budejovice to the whole country, effectively creating a Czech beer "appellation" and heightening the appeal for newcomers coming into the industry.

"There has to be more substance to the PGI than just saying 'this comes from the Czech Republic'," says Jennings.

Budvar isn't alone in raising such concerns. Martin Kec, director of the privately-owned Zatec brewery, based in the heart of the prestigious Saaz hop-growing region, says the brewery is trying to cling on to the Czech brewing tradition, even if it is at a price.

Kec says: "We are still brewing in open fermentation tanks and carrying out a longer lagering. It's a very expensive way of making beer. If you compare our product with Pilsner Urquell, we're probably 200% more expensive to produce.

"The overall quality of Czech beer is declining," he adds. "The real Czech brewing tradition is beginning to disappear. There are not many breweries left that use open fermentation, a long lagering period, only three Czech hops and produce without chemical treatment. Budvar is one and we are another."

A straw poll of other suppliers and brewers of world beers suggests concern about the beer quality of imported products isn't widespread, though there was little surprise that less passionate operators could compromise the reputation of a proud brewing nation by a quick cash-in.

"It's the way most things work," says Shepherd Neame sales and marketing director Graeme Craig. "In any market where people have been successful, others will move in pretty quickly."

Jennings' suggestion that UK drinkers have their heads turned by a beer's source as much as the quality of the product arguably sheds new light on the debate about brewed-at-source versus brewed-under-licence foreign beers.

Are British drinkers and the trade as "uncritical" in their acceptance of imported as a badge of quality as he alleges they are with their acceptance of anything Czech?

Craig's Shepherd Neame has a foot in both camps as the UK distributor for imported Samuel Adams from the US and brewed-under-licence beer with Japan's Asahi.

"The trade is much more hung up about all this than consumers are," argues Craig. "The thing they most care about is whether it's a good quality product or not, regardless of where it physically comes from.

"Are people buying Peroni because it's Italian and they like Italian things — or is it because they like the taste of Peroni?"

Nick Miller, sales director at Peroni supplier Miller Brands (UK), also thinks the importance of imported as a motivator for consumers is sometimes over-rated.

"I'm not sure it's because it's imported," he says, "as much as that they're seen as something special and new — brands that have true heritage."

Others suggest the importance of genuine imports depends on the type of consumer.

Roger Barrey, director of beer at Interbev Group, which markets Chang Thai beer in the UK, says: "To a lot of trade customers and other people in the beerage it absolutely does matter, but I'm not so sure that applies to most consumers. Among 18 to 25-year-olds it probably doesn't, but as people become more experienced in life and travel, it may well do."

Craig at Shepherd Neame argues that "genuine import" shouldn't be sold as a substitute for quality.

He adds: "I understand the authenticity argument, but it would be very hard for consumers to tell the difference between the Asahi product brewed in Japan and the one we brew over here."

Others still take some convincing. Michael Cook, who, as Pierhead Purchasing director of imported beer, presides over a brand portfolio from 33 countries, says: "Some brewed-under-licence brands such as Asahi and Kirin may have some quality, but I don't think they can be looked upon as the real thing. Stella Artois from Leuven is a completely different beer from that of the brewed-under-licence Stella we get in the UK."

But Shepherd Neame's Craig believes the consumer trend towards local produce could even swing the trend back in favour of brewing within the end-user market.

"The environment is right up there as one of the things that is going to affect consumer attitudes," he says.

"Shipping a beer 10,000 miles isn't very environmentally friendly, so you can't have it all ways. There's a call for imported products on point-of-difference grounds, but there's a really compelling argument that says if you can brew it to a high standard then you should brew under licence."

Wells & Young's is another in both camps, supplying fast-growing imported Corona to the UK market and brewing Kirin Ichiban for the UK. The Japanese brand is made only from the first pressings of its ingredients.

Marketing director Chris Lewis says: "There are always consumers looking for genuine imports but it's more important to some than others. It's important to brew a quality product — consumers come back to it."

But James Clay sales manager Nigel Stevenson thinks the quest to unearth new beers from all possible corners of the globe is leading to less discriminating quality control about what makes it on to the market.

"I can't get really excited about some of the brands coming from the Far East — when you get down to it they're just more mass-produced lager," he says.

"There are speciality beer pubs that have a big range, but if you're a mainstream pub you're going to find it hard to improve on one of the better Czech or German lagers. "

Stevenson recalls an encounter with a UK supplier of a beer from South America.

"He was telling me what a great beer it was, but I just didn't get it. It was just another lager to me." NH

What role does food play in marketing beers from around the world?

"Food delivers availability to the consumer through restaurants, which in turn produces an opportunity for the wider trade.

"For a brand, food allows us to reinforce messages about product quality. Harbin supports China Now and the Taste of China as a way to highlight the food link. Michelob is a metropolitan brand, but is also a style of beer that goes well with steak, a burger or various cheeses.

"We're looking at menu cards as a way of delivering those messages to consumers, with basic tasting notes. But food shouldn't limit the use of a brand. It should be used as an easy entry-point for consumers."

James Whitely

Import brand