High-end beers on the go go go
Volumes are still small and only a few handful of brewers seem to be keen on dabbling their hands in these super-premium beer specialities, which retail at EUR 15 for a bottle, but as BRAUWELT International wrote about a year ago, a market for them is slowly evolving, even in Germany. And about time too. The German beer market, long suffering from volume declines and creative stagnation when it comes to genuine product innovation, is finally witnessing a surge in noble brews and special edition beers, which position themselves decidedly beyond the bland and boring. These beers are produced by small or medium-sized breweries, mostly from Bavaria, but not just there.
As these beers will only sell in urban cosmopolitan surroundings, two drinks industry specialists recently founded a marketing and distribution company, called Gourmetbier-Galerie, to help these small breweries find customers.
The founders – Martin John and Stefan Seidl – have a background in drinks and wine marketing. They met years ago when they both worked for König Ludwig Kaltenberg Brewery in Bavaria. Knowing full well that these high-end beers will go nowhere and only gather dust if condemned to supermarket shelves, they are already touring the country with their beer portfolio to convince bar and restaurant owners in Germany’s big cities that serving these beers to their discerning clientele can be a worthy and profitable undertaking.
Usually, trade shows and festivals serve as launch pads for these products. However, Germany did not have a fine beer and drinks show that is open to the public. That’s why they jumped at the opportunity to feature their beers at the recent „1. Braukunst Live! Festival“ (20 -22 April 2012) which was held – of all places – in Munich. This was not a beer guerilla event. The organizer Frank-Michael Böer had managed to recruit a group of likeminded brewers around him – 40 exhibitors and several sponsors, Munich’s Hofbräu brewery, the glass firm Rastal and brewhouse manufacturer BrauKon among them – who were pleased to be ambushed by over 2500 people, all wanting to know the nitty-gritty of these beers. Many Bavarian brewers came to look and see, which should persuade Mr Böer to re-stage the show in a year’s time.
When it comes to fine beer events, Germany may be light-years behind the Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival, but as the saying goes: where there is life, there is hope and where there is hope, there will be a fine beer.
