From Interbrew TARGET CONSUMER Mark Barron, 33, is a solicitor who lives in south-west London I find Hoegaarden different from standard lagers ­ it smells herby and has a cleaner, fresher taste similar to an organic ale or a home brew. I like the champagne-style cork because it makes it stand out. It's refreshing to be able to buy beer in a decent sized bottle and I think people would buy it as an alternative to a couple of cans or bottles of other lager. It has obviously been made to look like a wine bottle that's for sharing over dinner and it would go well with light foods such as salads or pasta. But if they're aiming to change the concept of lager and position it as a sophisticated alternative to wine, they'll have a lot of work to do. Rating out of 25 ­ 21 The expert: Sally Easton Master of Wine and wine buyer for Berry Brothers and Rudd Opening is similar to sparkling wine. The wire has the requisite six twists and the bottle opens under some pressure. The cork looks to be good quality. In terms of packaging, the sparkling wine style has been well executed. The beer has the familiar chalky lemon ochre appearance and yeasty, floral nose. It has a smooth mouth feel and slight sparkle which cleans the palate and it shows flavours of yeast, cream and spice. It is full bodied with fragrant and refreshing flavours. If customers really are looking for bigger bottles packaged to pop on opening, then this should be a success. Success rating out of 25 ­ 15 The designer: Graham Shearsby Board creative director, graphics, at Design Bridge A very big bottle of Hoegaarden no less. A wine bottle sized offering for sharing over a plate or two of moules and frites, or aimed at the greedier souls among us for whom size matters. Overall it has a very generic appearance, including the comfort zone race track and heraldic devices ­ but at least it features some distinctive colour combinations. Possibly the single redeeming feature of this package is the champagne style cork closure.This effectively changes consumers' perception from another big bottle of beer to a gastro premium celebration. Success rating out of 25 ­ 12 The buyer: Steve Mayes Category controller at Landmark Hoegaarden is fairly well established in draught and 33cl formats, but I'm struggling with the logic of extending the range to include a 75cl bottle. Although the concept/gimmick of using a champagne style closure is novel, it will make the bottle tricky to merchandise on standard bottled beer fixtures because it is too tall. It would probably end up in among PET beers ­ very upmarket! There may be a bigger opportunity in the on-trade, but it still does not stack up. Great liquid, excellent innovative presentation but I don't think it will work unless it gets outrageous amounts spent on it. Success rating out of 25 ­ 10 Total score out of 100 ­ 58 {{DRINKS }}

Topics