Premium Quality on Tap as Stella Artois UK Draught Master Reaches Climax
Excitement is mounting throughout the drinks trade as the thrilling climax of the 2010 Stella Artois UK Draught Master approaches.
Twenty of the UK's best bar staff will be displaying their dispense skills using the iconic chalice branded glass when the Draught Master is staged in London on October 13.
The eagerly-awaited event - the ultimate test of bar dispense and presentation skills - underlines the renowned brewing heritage and unrivalled product quality of Stella Artois.
The winner will receive the prestigious Draught Master title, plus £500 for themselves and £2,500 for their outlet, and will have the honour of representing the nation in the World Draught Masters taking place in the UK for the first time.
More than 30 bar staff from all over the world, including the newly-crowned UK winner, will put their dispense skills to the test in London on October 28. The winner will become the global Ambassador for the art of pouring the perfect Stella Artois.
The UK and global Draught Master initiatives are an integral part of a massive investment by Stella Artois to encourage on-trade outlets to create profits through a focus on product quality.
It is spearheaded by the new Stella Artois Quality Training Programme covering three key elements including beer appreciation which provides information on different styles of beer giving staff the skills to recommend and up-sell. It also covers the growing relationship between beer and food and explains how retailers can exploit this.
The third element - the Perfect Pour - deals with practical advice for bar staff enabling them to dispense a perfectly poured Stella Artois in the correct chalice glass.
Kits featuring training information along with branded coasters, skimmers and drip catchers to communicate the premium message to customers are now available.
The quality message is being underlined in 29 master classes with renowned beer sommelier Marc Stroobandt providing expert guidance for licensees and their staff.
James Watson, Stella Artois Marketing Director, Western Europe, said: "The perfect pour using the correct Stella Artois Chalice glass is an intrinsic aspect to the best possible consumer drinking experience."
Product quality is also the theme of new poster and TV advertising using the strap-line She is a thing of beauty comparing the ritual and presentation of Stella Artois with that of a beautiful woman.
Research underlines the crucial commercial role of quality: one in four customers say they won't buy another drink if the serve is poor and six out of ten who get a perfectly served drink would return to the outlet.*
* Source: TNS Alcovision/Perfect Serve Research 2003.
