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Guinness hopes to make a splash in U.S. beer market with new lager
Guinness Black Lager.
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KAI RYSSDAL: Onto something lighter now to bring things to a close. Or, actually, onto something heavier but trying to get lighter: beer. A particular kind of beer, to be precise: Guinness Stout. More people have probably heard of it than drink it, in this country anyway. One of our editors said today she thinks it tastes more like liquid tar than anything else.
And therein lies the problem for the Irish brand owned by the beverage giant Diagio. Guinness is huge in Europe and Africa. It's got, though, less than 2 percent of the American market. So Guinness is coming out with a new, dare I say it, lager.
Sally Herships has more on this brewing apostasy.
SALLY HERSHIPS: Americans like beer. They drink $103 billion worth of it every year -- most of it made in the U.S.
JOHN CRAVEN: You know, kind of that yellow, fizzy bubbly stuff that you see on the commercials.
John Craven is founder of BevNET.com. He says Americans like their brew cold and refreshing a la Budweiser. Guinness is known for it's thick dark stout. Which, according to the company, requires a pour time of two minutes. So enter Guinness Black. The brewer's new take on something lighter -- a lager.
Doug Campbell is in charge of the Guinness brand for Diago.
DOUG CAMPBELL: Being the lager style that is it is, it already will appeal more to kind of an American palette -- so things that aren't quite as challenging going down.
Even if Guinness' new lager is easier to swallow, how do you get customers to buy it? Or even try it?
CAMPBELL: That, of course, is the crux of the marketing question.
So Campbell says Guinness will promote the beer with TV, digital and print advertising -- but it will also be doing blind taste tests.
TIM CALKINS: Well you can see the challenge that's facing Guinness. Because the brand is very distinctive. But it has a very unique product that has a fairly limited appeal.
Tim Calkins teaches marketing at Kellogg School of Management. He says Guinness is making a classic marketing move -- stretching its brand. But he says it could be risky. If Guinness isn't careful, its new lighter beer could dilute the dark brand it's famous for.
In New York, I'm Sally Herships for Marketplace.
Many of you in here are bashing so called “American beerâ€, but if you look at its history they are really all German beer.
Know your history before you make stupid comments.
Adolphus Busch left Germany for America in 1857 (Budweiser)
Frederick Edward John Miller born in Germany (Miller)
Adolphus Busch left Germany for America in 1857 (Michelob)
The list goes on and on…
Many of you in here are bashing so called “American beerâ€, but if you look at its history they are really all German beer.
Know your history before you make stupid comments.
Adolphus Busch left Germany for America in 1857 (Budweiser)
Frederick Edward John Miller born in Germany (Miller)
Adolphus Busch left Germany for America in 1857 (Michelob)
The list goes on and on…
It doesn't look like they're actually diluting the beer, but the article mentioned diluting the brand. Black Lagers, or schwarzbiers, have their place in the beer world as well. I've had several that I love when I don't want to drink a heavy stout in the Texas heat, but still want to taste some malt in my beer.
Guinness tastes like "liquid tar"? Really? What does the person that thinks that drink? Appletinis all day? Guinness, even at it's worst, tastes better and smoother than any American beer, hands down. The only problem for Guinness this season might be the unseasonably hot weather in the Midwest, which, even for a Guinness fan such as myself, will cause most beer drinkers to avoid heavier brews.
I wise man once said, "I prefer to Chew my beer." while that comment was made about Fosters (which was vastly over exagerated) it sometime applies to stouts. If your used to the lagers of america then a Pint of Guiness will set your tasts buds back a little. I think that a new lighter stout may be a good thing, although I think the Float Or a Black and Tan from guiness would probably reach a bigger crowd. regardless I'll take my Guiness pulled from the Tap and My Extra Stouts when I can find them. One final note on taste those who like a Zinfindel rarely like a Burgandy.. It all wine isn't it?
It's funny that Guinness needs sell a lager to appeal to people that want a lighter beer. Guinness comes in different varieties the most common are the draft and extra varieties. The extra stout is a strong version that is make to last long voyages to hot places. The most common Guinness, the one that takes two minutes to pour because it's served with nitrogen instead of CO2, is a dry stout, which is very low in alcohol and flavor. Beer aficionados often refer to it as bog water as it tastes like colored water. If Guinness wants to appeal to drinkers that want a lighter beer then they should focus the marketing to that. I think Guinness is instead trying to capture the Lager Lout market.
I suppose that the world turns and its beers change. And I can hardly fault Guinness for trying a new avenue at a time when most companies are desperately seeking new markets. However Coca Cola tried this approach about 20 years ago and was forced to reconsider, ultimately bringing back "Classic Coke." For me, a Guinness stout devotee for 45 years, I'll take the "real thing."
Gary E. Hammond
I found this story laughable. American beer, which many call basically "piss water" is not fit for human consumption. Yet millions enjoy this brew which is full of various chemicals. Give me a European or Asian brew anytime. Even the corn mash brews of Peru are superior to the mainstream crap out of America. I spend a lot of time working overseas and have tasted many beers. The micro breweries are your best bet in the US. As for Miller or Busch, forget it. Put it on your flowers or in a compost pile and let the micro organisms and worms suffer.
