Beer here: a confluence of events makes for a mixed bag of beer sales this year

Cheers,  June, 2003  by Michael Sherer

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"A couple of questions and a taste can help customers narrow down their choices from 69 to one or two very quickly," Black says.

RELATED ARTICLE: MALTERNATIVES, SCHMALTERNATIVES

A year ago, the talk of the, industry was how big a chunk the malternatives being introduced would take out of the beer industry. Now, would-be trend-spotters are all saying, "I told you so." Malternatives are a fast-fading fad, going the way of wine coolers and dry beer.

"The market's so saturated now with maltern atives that they're fighting with each other, not beer," says Kip Snider, beverage manager at the Yard House.

That's not to say they'll disappear entirely, or that the category was a one-hit wonder. Smirnoff Ice, the innovator and clear category leader, will still have competition for some time from the likes of Bacardi Silver and Bacardi O3 from Bacardi and A-B, and perhaps even Skyy Blue from Skyy Spirits and SABMiller.

"We took all the maltern atives last year to see who would be the clear-cut winners," says Jim Barnett, beverage brand manager at Bennigan's. "^The two that were here to start ended up being the last ones standing."

Malternatives, though, do offer guests something different. Rock Bottom, for example, offers Woodchuck Amber Cider and Mike's Hard Lemonade in addition to Smirnoff Ice. Yard House has Hooper's Hooch on tap, and Lindeman's Framboise in 10-oz. Wine glasses, is even more popular with women.

PICK YOUR PROMOTION

Promotions help move beer, but operators now are careful to pick their spots. A few suggestions:

PARTNER WITH THE BIG BOYS The marketing muscle and materials major brewers and importers have to offer can help drive traffic and sales. Despite brewing its own beer, last year Ram International units teamed up with Corona and Pacifico for a "Light & Lime" promotion, and included its own Bighom Light beer. The stores moved more than 3,000 cases of beer in four weeks.

OFFER SOMETHING OF VALUE To get patrons to try an unusual beer or promote something special, give them something extra. Winking Lizard has a glassware program. Every month the taverns offer a glass that epitomizes the style of the beer on special or a glass with the brewer's logo. For an extra $1 -- the chain's cost -- guests get to keep the glass. The chain goes through about 4,000 glasses a month.

Redbones recently did a promotion offering valet parking to anyone riding a bike to the pub. The promotion also features drawings for prizes, such as free menu items.

MIX IT UP While beer may represent more volume than anything else in your bar, give it a rest once in while. Promote something else. Ram International's brewpubs plan a year-long promotional calendar with about 25 events, each lasting four weeks or less. Often, the chain will focus on something like its Mongo Margarita or Turbo Tea to keep things fresh and snappy.

The Yard House may be known for beer, but it has 19 signature martinis that account for about 28% of bar sales or $350,000 annually.

PRICE PRODUCTS COMPETITIVELY Make sure you know what your competitors are doing. Bennigan's is testing both happy hour and late-night programs, tailoring them to local market conditions. It is giving local management more leeway to do aggressive price promotions where local independents are killing the chain with promotions like "five longnecks for five bucks." By doing so, the chain hopes to bring regulars back and win them over with exceptional service.