The Counter-Pilsner (R)evolution?

It is a bright and sunny day in the Financial District and interesting things are brewing in the world of beer…

The headlines in the business sections today included news that Anheuser-Busch, the world’s largest brewer, is engaged in talks with several mid-sized breweries in India. Per capita the Indian’s drink less than one liter of beer per person per year. On the other hand, Indian beer sales are increasing on an average of 7% -10% per year. In the United States mainstream beer consumption has been generally on the decline, though the one bright spot on this gloomy outlook is that American craft brewers are steadily increasing their sales. What will A-B do to meet analyst’s growth expectations? Domestically the good folks that bring you Budweiser have sought out different avenues to enhance their revenue stream. Recent efforts have included expanded seasonal offerings such as Bare Knuckle Stout and Jack’s Pumpkin Ale, craft brews like the excellent Brewmaster’s Private Reserve and even an Organic Beer called “Wild Hop” available in some upscale grocery markets. In another direction they have inked distribution deals for imports such as Tiger and Grolsch. A_B has also approached some of the larger regional craft brewers such as Old Dominion and Red Hook for the rights to distribute their brews. And of course they advertise and advertise and advertise….

Wherever you look in our town: The neon adorned windows of First Avenue; The billboards on Route 36; plastered on the sides of Distributor’s trucks; emblazoned on summertime shore blimps; flapping on beach buzzing plane banners; and embroidered onto ball caps and t-shirts, the advertisements for Anheuser-Busch’s beer are there. The in-store posters show incredibly fit and beautiful men and women drinking responsibly in poses and clothes that highlight their svelte physiques. They seem to say “you too can be young and beautiful if you buy and drink our pale golden elixir”. Are you running to out to get some? Let me step out of your way, I have chosen the road less traveled, though my fellow travelers are apparently increasing in numbers at a healthy rate.

Enter Dogfish Head; a craft brewer from the First State, their tag line is “off-centered beers for off-centered people”. Sam Calgione, the founder of the brewery, has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, has produced numerous award winning beers, and has written a book on entering into the brewing business. His latest impish creation will be coming to a store near you.
For years people seeking better taste have derided the big brewer’s products by comparing the aforesaid brews with the by-products generated by mammalian fluid consumption – piss. I have seen t-shirts that show a man, his back to the viewer, urinating into a large vat with the caption “The creation of light beer” Well Sam Calgione, ever irreverent, has taken the assault to the next level. In my inbox Saturday I received an announcement from the brewer himself. He is introducing into the Dogfish Head stable of beers a product that will take back the good name of the Pilsner. Sam notes in his announcement that most of the larger brewers claim that their product is a “Pilsner Style” beer and frequently include a reference to that style on their labels. He takes them to task and points out in some detail the falsity of their claims:
“In the middle of the nineteenth century, in a land that is now the Czech Republic, the Pilsner beer style was born. The soft local water, the bottom-fermenting Bavarian Yeast, the local hops and the lightly toasted barley made it beloved the world over.
Unfortunately, the industrial breweries here in America have spent the better part of a century diluting and bastardizing this beer style to its hardly recognizable current state of existence. Over three quarters of the beer made and consumed in America is sold as Pilsner. But it doesn't have the alcohol content or the crisp, bracing, hop character of the old world standard. In fact, it doesn’t even have the same ingredients.”
He also describes the cheap ingredients used, the folly that led them to market their product on the basis bland and ice cold is better and the multi-billion dollar marketing budget that comes with these generally uninspiring products.
To counter this abuse of the Pilsner name he is brewing up a whopper of a brew. Using 100% Pilsner Barley and a healthy dose of European Hops and weighing in at 9% ABV Sam is presenting us a with a beer that he asserts is the secret to selling something that he wants people to buy and drink:
“INSTEAD OF MAKING IT INOFFENSIVE MAKE IT TASTE GOOD”
Sounds reasonable enough right? The name Sam has chosen for this new product? Why “Golden Shower” of course. A name that is funny on so many levels that it is guaranteed to generate more than a few chuckles from the younger crowd.
Sam promises no advertising, no marketing and has even shared the recipe with a Czech brewery for free, so long as they also agree not to advertise as well. Can a brewer succeed without advertising? Ask Sam, and what will he tell you? :
“Yup. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery has averaged over 50% revenue growth for the last three years and we are on the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing private companies in America. We've achieved all of this even though our beers are among the strongest in alcohol and most expensive in the world. We do this by paying more attention to the quality of our beer then we do about creating an image or buying mind and market-share. We spend about 2% of our annual revenue on marketing or advertising any of our beers or any aspect of our company and yet we continue to grow stronger every day. And we are not alone. In 2005 overall beer sales in America grew less than one percent. Wine sales and Liquor sales were up around 4%. But craft beer sales were up 9% this past year; making ours the fastest growing adult beverage segment in the country. There are over 1400 craft breweries in America that contributed to this growth. Hardly any of us have sizable advertising campaigns to speak of. But then again we don't make our beer with cheaper ingredients like corn and rice either. What we do have is a growing, grassroots army of beer enthusiasts by our sides who have chosen quality over hype and are helping us spread the word. We wouldn't waste our Golden Shower on the kind of beer drinker who decides what to drink based on which brewery spends the most on advertising and the least on ingredients, we brewed it for the rest of us. “
As we near my 46th Birthday I hope my birthday gifts include a Golden Shower or three, which would be the bottled kind that is, wiseacre.

Cheers.