Beer mixes: the next big thing in brewing?
Hop, hop, more hops was certainly the much talked about topic at Brau Beviale in Nuremberg (13 to 15 November 2012), especially after the Bavarian Brewers Association in January this year issued a statement saying that dry hopping was not in contradiction with the German Reinheitsgebot. Phew. You can image how relieved German brewers were, now that this controversial issue has been settled, hopefully, once and for all.
However, brewers further afield seem to have already latched on to the next new thing, which is actually quite an old thing: beer mixes. Global brewers, in particular, have come to realise that they would be daft if they left the big segment of light alcoholic beverages to competitors from the drinks industry. After all, there are swathes of consumers out there who don’t like beer (think of women and a whole generation of consumers brought up to enjoy sweet fizzy drinks only) and in all likelihood will never buy one either.
In the past two decades, brewers have tried their hands at various non-beer products. The ill-fated alcopops and malternatives come to mind. But few brewers had a go at reformulating shandies, those old-time beer plus citrus-flavoured soda, carbonated lemonade, ginger beer, ginger ale, or cider mixes, which have been around like forever. And even fewer were successful at it.
This could change. At Brau Beviale visitors could sample new age shandies, which were made with beer but did not taste of beer. Actively pushing these products is the new company Austria Juice, which is the result of the recent merger between the Ybbstaler and Agrana juice companies. The company produces fruit juice concentrates, fruit purees and natural flavourings as well as beverage ingredients and direct juices for use in the beverages industry.
Amongst other products, Austria Juice served a classic but cloudy citrus-flavoured shandy, an elderflower beer mix and a bitter-orange aperitif, which looks like the popular Italian aperitif Aperol: that is bright red and lightly carbonated.
While Aperol Spritz is made with sparkling wine and soda, this one is mixed with beer. Its taste was absolutely convincing. And at about 2.5 percent ABV it was very drinkable too.
The shandies available at Austria Juice generated quite some interest. Come next year, I am sure some will pop up in brewers’ portfolios.
