New product round-up
St Austell Brewery £1m Korev revamp, ‘World’s first’ Wembley pitch IPA, Havana Club exclusive UK launch
St Austell Brewery unveils £1m Korev rebrand
Independent, family-owned St Austell Brewery has unveiled a new look for 4.8% ABV flagship Helles style lager Korev.
Backed by an investment of more than £1m, the new look lager will hit pubs and bars from May.
“Korev has always been a brand with huge potential,” Andrew Turner, managing director of St Austell Brewery’s beers and brands, said. “To unleash it, we have invested in an exciting rebrand inspired by the spirit of Cornwall and our connection to the coast.
“There’s been so much innovation and investment going into the beer market recently. We’re confident that Korev will capture the eye of drinkers this summer.
“It’s a truly authentic lager – crafted in a brewery with over 170 years of heritage – coupled with a really vibrant new look.
“As the on-trade reopens after another significant period of closure, we look forward to welcoming back our loyal drinkers – and saying hello to some new ones – with a beautiful cold, crisp and refreshing pint of Korev.”
Schweppes launches Slimline Elderflower tonic
Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has expanded its range of Schweppes Classic tonics with the launch of Schweppes Slimline Elderflower.
Paul Robertson, associate director, on-premise at CCEP, said: “2020 saw Schweppes mixers achieve 33% value growth in retail, driven by shoppers’ demand for a brand that they recognise, and can rely on for quality and value, when recreating the pub, bar or restaurant experience in the home.
“We now have an exciting opportunity to translate this demand across into the hospitality channel, as we support our customers with a safe and successful reopening.”
England supporters’ group and Portobello Brewery create new brew using Wembley pitch
Ahead of this summer’s UEFA Euro 2020, England supporters group, Block 109, has launched a beer in tandem with Portobello Brewery to raise money for community football network Grassroots for Good.
Wembeerly IPA, which already has orders from 15 pubs around London, is made using the exact same rye grass seeds as the hallowed Wembley turf, making it the first beer in the world to be made from a football pitch according to its creators.
“We set up Block 109 in 2018 to create an inclusive fan group to give Wembley an atmospheric identity,” Kunal Sapat, founder of Block 109 said. “In three years, we’ve grown exponentially and raised thousands of pounds for charity, but we’re hoping this project can be our biggest yet and help support the heartbeat of our national game, grassroots football.”
Rob Jenkins, owner of Portobello Brewing, added, “Using the rye seed of the iconic Wembley pitch is certainly a first for us. After a tough year, it’s exciting to be working on such an innovation project and be looking forward to a summer of sport.
“The rye gives the beer it’s own unique edge, so we had to partner it with the right hops to compliment it. We ended up choosing American hops, so it’s refreshingly light, designed to be enjoyed for when England are winning.”
Fentimans unveils 200ml mixer range
Independently owned premium drinks brand, Fentimans, is to launch a new range of 200ml mixers and tonics from May.
“As more and more consumers continue to enjoy longer serves, and experiment with a range of mixers to pair with their personal spirit repertoires, it’s important that Fentimans creates a serve size that meets the needs of our consumers, whilst providing the best drinking experience,” Fentimans marketing director, Andrew Jackson, explained.
“With the launch of our new 200ml pack format, we have responded to the ever-evolving needs of our customers and the growing number of people who enjoy Fentimans drinks.”
The following Fentimans flavours will be available in the new 200ml format: Premium Indian Tonic Water; Connoisseurs Tonic Water; Light Tonic Water; Ginger Beer; Ginger Ale; Soda Water; Rose Lemonade; Pink Grapefruit Tonic Water; Valencian Orange Tonic Water; Yuzu Tonic Water; Pink Rhubarb Tonic Water and Tropical Soda.
Beavertown launches Luchanaut lager and lime
North London-based Beavertown Brewery has launched 4.4% ABV Luchanaut lager with added lime.
‘'Being a lager with added lime, Luchanaut is very much Central America-inspired, and we wanted to reflect that in the design – that's why we went for the 'Lucha Libre' style imagery,” Nick Dwyer, creative director at Beavertown, commented.
“What's more, this beer is all about spending time in the sunshine with our mates, which is why the character is in space. After all, what's more outdoors than space?”
Luchanaut joins Beavertown’s limited edition specials range alongside the likes of Low-Cal Hazy Pale Ale, Space-Born and Double IPA, Double Chin.
Spirit of Haiti releases fifth Clairin expression
Clairin Sonson is the latest sugar cane spirit to join Spirit of Haiti’s range of single estate clairins – an expression of the Haitian terroir and drink making tradition – and will be exclusively distributed in the UK by Speciality Brands.
The 53.2% ABV Clairin Sonson originates from Cabaret, a village located in the district of Arcahaie in the north-west of Port-au-Prince.
“Since its launch, the Spirit of Haiti – Clairin range has built a strong following amongst rum fans who love its authentic stories and unique tasting experience,” Chris Seale, managing director of Speciality Brands commented.
“Each clairin uses century-old, artisanal techniques that truly bring to life the richness of the Haitian terroir. With the interest in premium white rums growing in the UK, it’s good timing to introduce Clairin Sonson to British drinkers and take them on a new cane spirit journey.”
Havana Club Cuban Spiced to exclusively launch in the UK
Havana Club is introducing its first spiced variant exclusively to the UK in May, Havana Club Cuban Spiced.
The launch will see 35% ABV Havana Club Cuban Spiced take over select bars in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Leeds with colourful mural designs, branded slushy machines and unique serves.
Discussing the launch, Ian Peart, commercial director at Pernod Ricard UK, said: “61% of young adults that purchase rum buy spiced rum and we’re confident that Havana Club Cuban Spiced will offer a unique proposition that sets it apart from the competitive set of nautical-inspired spiced rums.
“The launch is well positioned to capitalise on the growth opportunity in spiced rum, and we will be focusing on educating and inspiring UK bartenders on the liquid’s versatility to establish menu visibility across the on-trade.”
Havana Club Cuban Spiced is available through Matthew Clark, LWC Drinks and HT Drinks.
Francis Ford Coppola Winery launches pair of commemorative pours
Named after the five-time Academy Award winning director of The Godfather Trilogy and Apocalypse Now, the Northern California-based Francis Ford Coppola Winery has created two limited-edition wines – a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon, both from 2019 – in honour of the 93rd Academy Awards.
“The Family Coppola 93rd Awards'” limited-edition bottles have been produced by Bottega Spa and feature a mirror gold colour exterior.
Shepherd Neame teams up with cider maker Sheppy’s
Britain’s oldest brewer Shepherd Neame has teamed up with Somerset’s oldest family cider maker Sheppy’s to expand the range of cider available across its estate.
Two of Sheppy’s most popular offerings, 4% ABV Cider with Raspberry and the award-winning 5% ABV 200 variety are now available on draught for the first time in more than 70 Shepherd Neame pubs and hotels across London and the south east.
“Having spent much of the year building our direct to consumer offering during the pandemic, our continued collaboration with Shepherd Neame will propel us back on to the on-trade scene as their venues open back up,” David Sheppy, managing director at Sheppy’s said.
“Both Sheppy’s Cider with Raspberry and our 200 variety are two of our most popular drinks, so being able to partner with another British family business to bring these long-standing favourites to Shepherd Neame pubs is something we think customers will be very pleased about.”
Nigel Bunting, Shepherd Neame’s director of retail and tenanted operations added: “We are delighted to extend our successful partnership with Sheppy’s by introducing more of their products to our estate.
“Our businesses share many similarities, including our commitment to create distinctive, high quality products using expert craftsmanship refined over time and handed down through generations, and we are sure that these additions to our portfolio will prove popular with customers.”
Eden Mill launch Red and White Wine cask-aged gins
‘Red Wine Cask-Aged Gin’ and ‘White Wine Cask-Aged Gin’ are limited edition pours developed and hand crafted by Eden Mill’s expert senior distilling team, Scott Ferguson and Andrew Walker.
The Red and White Wine Cask-Aged Gins both started out as Eden Mill Original Gin and were then aged in two different casks, imparting unique flavours in both gins due to the individual ageing process of each cask.
Eden Mill head distiller Scott Ferguson said: “As Scotland's first single-site brewery and distillery, we’ve been marrying techniques and experimenting with new flavours since day one.
“We first brought our fascination for oak from producing whisky together with gin when we created Eden Mill’s Oak Gin in 2015.
“By experimenting with cask-ageing and also adding oak chips, we found a beautiful way of giving gin a boost of flavour at speed.
“With the Red and White Wine Cask-Aged expressions, the gins were only extracted from their cask at the point we were confident the perfect flavour, colour and wine character had been added to the gin without extracting too many overpowering flavours from the wood of the cask itself.”
Tomatin Distillery creates ‘The French Collection’
Award-winning Highland single malt, Tomatin, has announced the launch of four-part limited release series, The French Collection – a series of whiskies exhibiting unique flavours from French wine and spirits casks.
Distilled in 2008, the whisky began its maturation in traditional Scotch Whisky oak casks before being moved into Monbazillac, Sauternes, Rivesaltes and Cognac casks for the final stage of the process.
Graham Eunson, master distiller at Tomatin said: “The French Collection is a great example of Tomatin’s dedication to craft and excellence, with each expression showcasing how respective finishing cask affects the original spirit – a concept Tomatin championed in the Cuatro series released in 2014, which was very well received.
“We have produced four remarkable expressions which will appeal to not only whisky enthusiasts and collectors alike, but also a wider audience.
“On top of this, we are also very excited for consumers to be able to experience each expression with the ambisonic content series launched today.”
