The rep was from the Otter Brewery, in Devon. Expecting the usual A4 sheet of paper with black and white thumbnails alongside the usual bland descriptions, a professional looking portfolio . There website is to the same standard - excellent photos, simple and easy-to-use site with tasting notes and quick descriptions of appearance, aroma and taste.
Talk moved on to product support, which normally seems to be a dozen branded glasses - something we have no use for as we use our own branded glasses. A choice of bar towels (suitable for country pubs such as ours) or those rubber bar 'runners' that would be more suited to a town centre bar for example. Did you hear that DIAGEO? A CHOICE of POS that allows pubs to keep their branding/atmosphere/look etc in keeping with the character of the building.
Sorry, slight bug of mine there - every Guinness POS we get sent through seems tailored for high st bars, not country pubs. Anyway...
A branded Angram pump handle was offered, and proper ceramic pump clips for any beers we took on regularly. And an elegant poster, framed and ready for the wall. This, coupled with a sensible pricing structure, meant I agreed on the spot to order one of each, and try them out.
They've all sold so well, I'm now on my third delivery of them. The reason why they've sold well is of particular interest to me though - that being my raison d'etre, to sell beer.
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| I've stolen this picture from their website and take no credit for it whatsoever |
In summery, I find everything about the beers accessible, and I think that's a key word to consider if growth of cask is to continue. The beers themselves are good, solid examples of the beer styles they claim to be. My personal favourite so far has to be the Bright.
This is how you do it. Lets see more breweries take this level of pride in their beer. Organising a beer festival for the bank holiday, any brewery without a website that at least listed their beers and an email address won't be present. Yet beers from Devon will constantly be available on my bar.
Cheers
Excellent post. It's just as important to point out who's getting it right as who's getting it wrong.
ReplyDeleteI like the clean simple branding of Otter. Would a suit a country pub or upmarket bar just the same.
Well done guys, and keep up the good work.
Yes, very good branding, retaining a rural connection but clean and modern at the same time. It underlines the point that it isn't enough just to brew good beer, you have to sell it as well. I've seen their beers in a few places in the wider West Midlands area, so they must be making an impact. To be honest, I've found the beers a bit underwhelming, but how much of that is just how they were kept is hard to tell.
ReplyDeleteNeil, I think when discussing beer and pubs it can be easy to become negative - I certainly have when I've got a certain head on. It's important to have clear examples of what works, explain why and encourage others to do the same.
ReplyDeleteMudge, they also have a policy of not supplying it to other pubs on the doorstep - they choose the pubs that fit where they want to see it sold. If this is true in the wider area and not just locally, then I expect it wasn't too much a case of how they were kept. The beers aren't amazing, groundbreaking beers but IMO solid and reliable. Will be interesting to see how they sell in a few weeks time once the honeymoon period has ended
They need to be served Southern style for best flavour, a sparkler kills them. Which might explain why they've been underwhelming in the West Midlands?
ReplyDeleteQuinno, hadn't even thought of that. We don't sparkle any beers by default except for stouts. Got them on hand just in case though
ReplyDelete