AB-InBev takes on Duvel with new Victoria beer
Belgium | AB-InBev has finally entered the fray of bottle-conditioned strong blonde beers, in an effort to take on Duvel, which leads this ever-expanding segment.
In June, AB-InBev launched a new Belgian beer, called Victoria, with 8.5 percent ABV, which is a not-too subtle attack on Duvel, the most successful beer in the segment of strong blonde ales. This segment is not to be confused with abbey beers, for example AB-InBev’s Leffe brand, which form a category of their own.
According to AB-InBev, the new Victoria beer was “brewed in honour of the victory of the archangel Michael, the patron saint of the city of Brussels, over the devil in 1695.” To this day, a statue of St Michael stands atop of the tower of Brussels’ town hall. The medieval building was reduced to rubble after French bombardment in 1695 but has since been rebuilt.
What were they thinking
The old-fashioned label shows a large, altar-piece like image of St Michael slaying the devil in the form of a dragon. Although the analogy doesn’t quite work – in 1695 the devil was clearly the French and in the traditionally French-speaking city of Brussels the devil is called “diable” – consumers are supposed to get drift that in Flemish “devil” is “duvel”. In other words, AB-InBev’s Victoria wants to be a Duvel slayer.
As points out De Tijd, a newspaper: “For those who still have doubts, the name Victoria resembles “Victoire” (“victory”), the first name under which the Moortgat family launched its popular Duvel in 1918 to celebrate the Allies’ victory in the first world war.
AB-InBev spokesperson Karolien Cloots was quoted as saying that “a strong blonde beer is not yet in our range. It has been one of the strongest growing segments of the beer market in recent years.”
Going after Duvel
However, observers still remember AB-InBev’s earlier attack on Duvel with Jupiler Tauro, introduced in 2008. The lager with 8.3 percent ABV didn’t go down well and was eventually discontinued.
Many brewers have tried to hitch a ride on Duvel’s success since the 1980s. There were beers with similar names and appearances, such as Satan, Lucifer, Judas, Sloeber or even Angel from supermarket chain Delhaize.
Duvel never wasted much energy on those me-toos, because the brand was getting stronger and expanded with line extensions, most recently its Duvel Tripel Hop Citra and Duvel Tripel Hop Cashmere.
Many harbour doubts that AB-InBev’s Victoria will have much of an impact.
