It’s well known that ‘craft beer’ is rapidly expanding across the UK: it seems that we see the announcement of (yet) another new brewery and or range of beers every day! And many pubs now offer a range of guest beers so that their customers can select from a wider range that was previously possible.
In short, craft beer is delivering a growing opportunity:
- ‘Craft beers’ are growing at 86%vol year-on-year (CGA strategy Nov 2012) with consumers looking for products that deliver more of an experience when drinking in the on trade.
- Drinkers are prepared to pay an average premium of 33p/pint for ‘craft beers’ (Marston’s Drinker Survey Oct 2012)
- Differentiates retail range and complements a more premium food offer
Now – the first in a series of keg beers from Marston’s: Revisionist Craft Lager
Marston’s is set to quench this growing consumer thirst for well-crafted, distinctive premium beer as it launches the first in a series of craft keg beers: Revisionist Craft Lager, available in 30-litre keg format.
The Revisionist beer series has been developed as a showcase for Marston’s five regional breweries – from Jennings in Cumbria to Ringwood in Hampshire. It’s given their expert brewers a chance to ‘revise’ beer styles and create their own, new interpretations, using contemporary ingredients and techniques to deliver memorable drinking experiences for beer’s ever-increasing consumer numbers.
Revisionist Craft Lager: refreshing and easy drinking
Craft Lager has been created by Simon Yates, master brewer at the Park Brewery in Wolverhampton, from an idea to blend ‘new world’ hop character beers with ‘old world’ continental lager styles. A lager was chosen to represent the lighter end of the beer spectrum, but with a quirkier, more complex flavour than most in the category
The beer is crafted with lager malt and a blend of German Hallertau Magnum and Tradition hops, plus Slovenian Styrian, and then dry hopped with British Admiral and Boadicea varieties. This delivers a refreshing, easy drinking beer with a subtle citrus orange marmalade flavour – ideal for the coming summer months.
Revisionist Craft Lager joins Shipyard American Pale Ale (Marston’s collaboration with American brewer Shipyard Brewing Co.) and Marston’s Oyster Stout in delivering a range of craft beers to help retailers differentiate their range and deliver a premium margin opportunity. All beers in the Revisionist range are cold conditioned and micro filtered (rather than pasteurised) and packaged in smaller 30-litre keg containers for improved product freshness.
Other styles planned to receive the Revisionist treatment later in the year are a wheat beer and a Saison beer.