Marston's revamps bottled Pedigree for pubs

Midlands brewer Marston's has unveiled a revamped version of its bottled Pedigree ale, which it hopes will help drive consumers back into pubs.

The new variety, being currently rolled out into the off-trade, has been strengthened from the previous 4.5 per cent ABV to a stronger five per cent.

The launch is the first piece of activity for Pedigree, which is the official beer of England cricket, over the coming year as Marston's celebrates its 175th anniversary.

Announcing the new beer at Lord's cricket ground today, Des Gallagher, Marston's brand manager said the launch tied in with the key sporting event of the year, namely the forthcoming Ashes tournament between England and Australia.

"There is considerable passion and pride shown towards the English cricket team and that's the way we feel about Marston's Pedigree," he said.

The strap-line for a summer-long campaign around the beer and the sport was 'England Has It', he said.

"We want to take the spirit of cricket out there and drive traffic back into pubs," Gallagher said.

Marketing and promotion throughout the tournament will include competitions across both on and off-trade to win VIP tickets to Ashes matches.

With the new five per cent version of Pedigree, Marston's hoped to "give the body of the cask variety but in a bottle".

As well as the ABV change, the brewer has repackaged the beer, choosing a gold edged red label bearing the legend 'Pedigree'.

The new variant was described by beer experts as very dry in the finish and not as sulphurous as the cask version.