Could climate be right for bottled ales boom?

Bottled ales are set to steal share from mainstream lager and beer as government and social pressure on the drinks industry mounts.

Growth in volume sales of premium bottled ales (PBA) has more than tripled year-on-year to 11% [Symphony IRI 52 w/e December 24 2011], while value sales have risen 12% to £233m.

Sales of PBAs had been even stronger in Scotland in the three months following the implementation of a ban on multibuys, rising 16.4% by volume year-on-year, while standard lager fell 5.6% [Symphony IRI 12 w/e 24 December 2011].

Marston’s, which has a 16.4% volume share of PBAs claimed changes such as the multibuy ban - and minimum pricing if introduced - would help it take more share from standard lager, cider and canned ale, particularly if adopted across the UK.

“If 45p becomes the minimum unit price, that’s going to have a major impact on sales of those big packs,” said Marston’s director of national sales and marketing James Coyle. “Given a narrower price gap between lager and ale, the share of PBA in take home is likely to move higher.”

The PBA market was set to grow as off-trade consumers sought taste over high-volume session beers, predicted Nielsen analyst Stewart Blunt. “Getting through several pints at home just doesn’t seem to be right somehow,” he added.

High-volume bitters in cans might be more vulnerable than standard lager, warned Wilson Drinks Report MD Tim Wilson, adding that, to develop further, PBAs needed to appeal to younger drinkers.

Marston’s is hoping to address this with two new 4.2% abv flavoured beers under its Wychwood Brewery brand. Snake’s Bite, an apple fruit beer, and Forest Fruits, a woodland berry fruit beer (rsp: £1.80/500ml), will roll out to Morrisons in April.