March 25th, 2008
. Budweiser . New Release
Anheuser-Busch introduces a Budweiser ale
By Jeremiah McWilliams
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/20/2008
Anheuser-Busch Cos. built its business on rivers of lager beer. But come October, the St. Louis-based brewer will have a little something extra for folks who like “heavier” brews.
“Budweiser American Ale” is meant to attract what A-B’s marketing department calls “experimenters” — drinkers who bounce around among various beers such as Yuengling, Fat Tire, Hoegaarden and Budweiser.
“They love beer, they just try a lot of different things,” said Dave Peacock, vice president of marketing at A-B’s domestic beer subsidiary. Although Peacock acknowledged that some craft beer enthusiasts won’t try a Bud-branded ale, the company expects that a sizeable portion of the market will have no problem with the concept.
The new ale’s task is to bring its own sales while also drawing drinkers to regular Budweiser, which is on a two-decade slide.
A-B is slamming millions of extra dollars into Budweiser’s marketing budget to promote it as the Great American Lager.
Peacock said the new ale, priced somewhat higher than regular Budweiser, is expected to enhance rather than diminish Budweiser’s image.
Introducing a Bud-branded ale now “makes sense,” said Peacock. “It builds on the credentials of Budweiser as a genuine American beer.”
Ales have traditionally been a stronghold of the fast-growing craft beer industry. Dollar sales of craft beer — generally from small beermakers — jumped 16 percent last year, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group based in Boulder, Co.
Meanwhile, sales of pale ales in the craft beer category jumped 6.8 percent to $92 million, according to Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. Amber ales rose 13 percent to $61 million, with India Pale Ale chipping in $36 million in sales.
Anheuser-Busch doesn’t have much of a presence in ales, although it does sell several imported ales — including Grolsch Amber Ale and Leffe Blonde — and its own Shock Top Belgian White.
For years, Anheuser-Busch was loath to spread the Budweiser nameplate over numerous beers for fear of diluting the brand, said Eric Shepard, executive editor of trade publication Beer Marketer’s Insights. That reluctance has diminished.
The push for Budweiser American Ale is expected to be lower-key than, say, the rollout of the new Bud Light Lime. One question, Shepard said, is how nimble A-B will be in selling the new beer without the benefit of a massive advertising campaign.
He asked: “Can they sell these brands without the marketing muscle?”
jmcwilliams@post-dispatch.com
314-340-8372