Cca Buys Blue Tongue

[Thirsty Boy]

********!(said respectfully of course )
That may be the case with smaller operations but as far as major corporates, the consumer is told what they will get.

How is that again?? I'm afraid I just don't see it. I go down to Dan Murphy - I walk up the beer aisle past all the mega brew that I don't want to drink and I buy either craft beer or Imported beer from the prominently located display.

Are they re-arranging the store just before I get in there and then changing it back before the "normal" customers get to see that they have a choice?

Every single brewer on this forum is an example of how what you say not being true ... YOU are a perfect example of it.

Example - VB Original Ale. Now its not a stunning beer, but its not too bad either. By normal mega standards its literally bursting with flavour and character. Now Fosters not only launched and backed up with advertising this much "better" beer, but they also took the unprecedented step of attaching it to the VB brand name, which in Australia is just about as big a boost as a product could get.... so did people rush out in droves to try it?? Well yes they did, it initially sold quite a bit... but then after they had tried it once... that was it.

So, a major corporation told people that this was a premium product, backed it with an association with one of the most powerful brand names in the country and chucked a fistfull of dollars at advertising it. And its tanked. Because the punters didn't like the beer. Even though by "our" standards it was in fact much better.

Remember Tooheys Blue or Fosters Special Bitter ?? Both of these were the first successful attempts to brew a full flavoured (by mega standards OK) light beer. And they were a rip roaring success. Until the punters were offered Lightice as an alternative. Then they ditched the flavour in favour of the bland... to the point where the FSB at least is no longer produced. Was there a point in Fosters trying to destroy one of its products in favour of another one?? NO... what happened was the consumer dictated the market.

The average punter out there actually likes the bland fizzy yellow... and mostly, the blander it is, the more they like it. They call it "easy drinking" not so much flavour that your tastebuds wear out when you drink 19 of em around the BBQ. Mega beer is bland and boring because thats what the public wants it to be.

Hell, I take imported and craft beer to my family Christmas every year.... I tell my whole family not to bring any beer, I will supply all of it for free. And I do. But they still come with an eski full of Melbourne Bitter or maybe Crown lager. And they will try a couple of the beers I brought, then they will go back to their eski for the rest of the night. They would rather pay to drink mega lager than drink good beer for free !!!

You make the beer that sells... if it doesn't sell, you stop making it. Its a simple process that has lead to the beer market as we know it.

 

[Ross]

How is that again?? I'm afraid I just don't see it. I go down to Dan Murphy - I walk up the beer aisle past all the mega brew that I don't want to drink and I buy either craft beer or Imported beer from the prominently located display.

Are they re-arranging the store just before I get in there and then changing it back before the "normal" customers get to see that they have a choice?

Every single brewer on this forum is an example of how what you say not being true ... YOU are a perfect example of it.

Example - VB Original Ale. Now its not a stunning beer, but its not too bad either. By normal mega standards its literally bursting with flavour and character. Now Fosters not only launched and backed up with advertising this much "better" beer, but they also took the unprecedented step of attaching it to the VB brand name, which in Australia is just about as big a boost as a product could get.... so did people rush out in droves to try it?? Well yes they did, it initially sold quite a bit... but then after they had tried it once... that was it.

So, a major corporation told people that this was a premium product, backed it with an association with one of the most powerful brand names in the country and chucked a fistfull of dollars at advertising it. And its tanked. Because the punters didn't like the beer. Even though by "our" standards it was in fact much better.

Remember Tooheys Blue or Fosters Special Bitter ?? Both of these were the first successful attempts to brew a full flavoured (by mega standards OK) light beer. And they were a rip roaring success. Until the punters were offered Lightice as an alternative. Then they ditched the flavour in favour of the bland... to the point where the FSB at least is no longer produced. Was there a point in Fosters trying to destroy one of its products in favour of another one?? NO... what happened was the consumer dictated the market.

The average punter out there actually likes the bland fizzy yellow... and mostly, the blander it is, the more they like it. They call it "easy drinking" not so much flavour that your tastebuds wear out when you drink 19 of em around the BBQ. Mega beer is bland and boring because thats what the public wants it to be.

Hell, I take imported and craft beer to my family Christmas every year.... I tell my whole family not to bring any beer, I will supply all of it for free. And I do. But they still come with an eski full of Melbourne Bitter or maybe Crown lager. And they will try a couple of the beers I brought, then they will go back to their eski for the rest of the night. They would rather pay to drink mega lager than drink good beer for free !!!

You make the beer that sells... if it doesn't sell, you stop making it. Its a simple process that has lead to the beer market as we know it.

+1

i was introduced to blue tongue lager by the newcastle boys on my beer tour of the eastern states. I was quite excited as i took my first taste, only to be met by the most insipid lager i think i've ever tried - was like liquid candy floss, fizzy sugar water that disappeared to nothing. The boys all laughed & told me i didn't need to finish it - i didn't & never bought another blue tongue product. So whether they now produce any good beers or not, i don't know - So i for one won't be mourning their sale.

Cheers Ross

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I was having a discussion with the brewer from Potters, at Cesnock a while back, and he told me that the head brewer of Blue Tungue acknowledged that their lager was **** crap and that they were concentrating on the marketing,branding and the label to achieve sales. Which goes to prove that with the right marketing, you can successfully sell goat piss to the general public cause they think it is great beer.

 

[geoffi]

I was having a discussion with the brewer from Potters, at Cesnock a while back, and he told me that the head brewer of Blue Tungue acknowledged that their lager was **** crap and that they were concentrating on the marketing,branding and the label to achieve sales. Which goes to prove that with the right marketing, you can successfully sell goat piss to the general public cause they think it is great beer.

Given the resources at their disposal, ie malt, hops, water and yeast, you'd think they could do the marketing thing AND produce a decent beer. It's not that hard.

 

[Doc]

From here

The purchase price was not revealed though it is estimated to be around $20 million USD. It has also been reported that they are considering building a greenfield brewery to brew additional brands for distribution by Pacific Beverages in region including Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Pilsner Urquell, Miller Genuine Draft and other Miller brands.

Doc

 

[PJO]

Remember Tooheys Blue or Fosters Special Bitter ?? Both of these were the first successful attempts to brew a full flavoured (by mega standards OK) light beer. And they were a rip roaring success. Until the punters were offered Lightice as an alternative. Then they ditched the flavour in favour of the bland... to the point where the FSB at least is no longer produced. Was there a point in Fosters trying to destroy one of its products in favour of another one?? NO... what happened was the consumer dictated the market.

The average punter out there actually likes the bland fizzy yellow... and mostly, the blander it is, the more they like it. They call it "easy drinking" not so much flavour that your tastebuds wear out when you drink 19 of em around the BBQ. Mega beer is bland and boring because thats what the public wants it to be.

Sounds a bit like the blind the blind.

Sure the average punter will drink bland yellow fizzy water (especially if the label has dancing naked ladies on it), but there are a few out there that want something better. Most people if given a choice will drink a blander product rather than one with a more challenging flavour, it takes time to educate your taste to be able to appreciate certain characteristics. I can honestly say I didn't much like Belgian beers when I first tried them, but now I absolutely love them.

Its good to see the large breweries for trying to do something a little better (VB Original, Boags Wizard-Smith Ale and Porter, Cascade Four Seasons Range), and I guess their hand has been forced a little by the craft brewers (probably wishful thinking on my part there).

The problem is that if you make 1000HL batch of beer you are gonna have to sell it, so you have no option but to appeal to a lower flavour denominator, and hence all those products are watered down version of what they could be. Also it isn't really in the interests of the big brewers to challenge or educate their customers, it only makes their business more complex. Large corporations in general have found the product that appeals to the greatest number of customers and then pushed it, I'm not saying its right, that just how it is. It kills diversity but results in a cheaper product.

Once you become a very large brewery you don't have much hope of making a product with a great deal of flavour in it, because you can't sell it within a reasonable time since the customer base is too small.

What I find interesting is that Blue Tongue has a batch size of only 50HL but it is trying to compete for the same customer as the big boys, it doesn't sound to me like a great business move, unless you spend lots on advertising, and even then a small downturn will have a large effect on the bottom line. I would have thought that you might have more chance with something a bit more distinctive.

I think the move by CCA is just a way to get their foot in the door, they will very quickly increase brewing capacity and marketing. Get ready for some saucy chicks prominently displaying their tongues on Tely. :icon_chickcheers:

I reckon Singo and his mates would have got an offer too good to knock back.

Cheers,
PJO

 

[Murcluf]

Not before we get Vanilla Blue-tongue,Bluetongue Original, Zero Blue-tongue, Lime Blue-tongue & Cherry Blue-tongue.
:icon_vomit:

Well winkle your crystal ball is pretty close want to try Megaswill Dry with Lime out very very soon!

 

[chimera]

Maybe we're the freaky fools for wanting something different!

I dont make 'swill' style beers, and I kind of wonder why people get so hung up on trying to replicate them with a homebrew kit - FFS, if you want to drink Melbourne bitter go to the bottle shop.

 

[dig]

Maybe we're the freaky fools for wanting something different!

I dont make 'swill' style beers, and I kind of wonder why people get so hung up on trying to replicate them with a homebrew kit - FFS, if you want to drink Melbourne bitter go to the bottle shop.

We had a home brew club on campus when I was at uni. At one Saturday tasting, the president became so fed up with the flavoursome offerings that he marched us all into the union bar and bought us all a VB. "That's what you should be making, VB with zing!" His exact words. I drank largely at home after that.

 

[chimera]

We had a home brew club on campus when I was at uni. At one Saturday tasting, the president became so fed up with the flavoursome offerings that he marched us all into the union bar and bought us all a VB. "That's what you should be making, VB with zing!" His exact words. I drank largely at home after that.

HAHA, that is quite a story!