Meantime microbrewery has reformulated its chocolate and coffee beers and put up the price in order to offer a more premium product.
Alistair Hook, owner of the London brewery, said that while the original products, which were available exclusively at Sainsbury, stood up well in respect to the competition, he was not fully satisfied with the quality of the beer.
“Basically we were restricted
by the £1.29 price point for the 330ml bottle and thus the beer was compromised,” said Hook.
“The new beers are much more in keeping with what the best chocolate and coffee beers should taste like.”
Previously both beers had an abv of 4%. The abv of the new chocolate beer has been increased to 6.5% and it will sell at £1.49.
The chocolate beer will be back on-shelf at Sainsbury from mid-August.
Meantime is still in talks with the retailer in a bid to secure a listing for its coffee beer, which now has an abv of 6%.
Castlemaine XXXX has launched a competition offering independent retailers hospitality tickets for the final Ashes event, if they win the challenge of maximising the display potential of a new £10.99 price-marked 24x 275ml bottle pack this summer.
Cactus Jack’s Schnapps Shotz are being launched into the UK by InterContinental Brands to target the 18 to 30-year-old market. The 20% abv Schotz will be sold in 50cl glass bottles (rsp: £5.99) and are available in five flavours.
The ‘26 Malts’ project - where 26 writers from Scotland and the UK have teamed up with 26 designers to create unique labels for 26 of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s top single cask malt whiskies - will be exhibited in the society’s venue in Edinburgh’s Queen Street in August.
XXXX Hospitality
Stella screenings Stella Artois is arranging outdoor events in Kensington Gardens, London, on August 6 and in Manchester’s Heaton Park on September 3, under its Stella Artois Screen banner. The former screen will show Donnie Darko, while the latter will show Pulp Fiction.
Shots for UK youth
‘26 Malts’ on show
