Blog Tracker
13-05-2014, 20:00
Visit the Northern Beer Blog site (http://www.seanliquorish.co.uk/blog/?p=1578)
The style of most drinks you can recognise by the category they fall into, ale, lager, cider, wheat beer etc. *But I came across one which takes some working out, the “spider” market sector. *Not immediately obvious is it, but it means “spirit cider” or for those of us are not so gullible “alcopop”. *I do wish drinks manufacturers would just admit what these drinks are instead of coming up with terms like this and my personal bane, the “fruit ciders” which have never seen a apple press in their life.
From the same people that brought you WKD we now have Orwells Amaretto Cider with “a hint of cherry, with a taste reminiscent of Bakewell Tart”. **I’m trying to imagine what this would be like and I’m afraid it’s coming across overly sweet cider with the slightest hint of the spirit if you have the imagination of JK Rowling. *They came up with this wonderful marketing line “This demonstrates that there is still plenty of stretch within the cider category to accommodate this new spirit cider sector, which brings together two categories which are both credible and highly motivating for consumers”. *I think there is a bull needing a shit in the field next door and would like it back.
Mentioned in the same article on the Morning Advertiser is that flavoured cider makes up 47% of the on trade premium packaged cider. *A nice twist on statistics there. *The fact is that 90% of “on trade premium packaged cider” sold across the country will be Bulmers, Magners, Kopparberg or Rekorderlig, all of which have a significant product range in this category. *It tries to make it sound like apple cider and perry is being caught up, not mentioning the fact that most cider of this type is served via pump on the bar or via box in the fridge, hence not even counting towards the other 53%. *Look around and many pubs will have an Old Rosie, Rosie Pig, Thatchers or Aspalls among others on tap. *Even the most tied down pubs will have a Strongbow or a Somersby on.
Many will also have at least a box of Westons or Thatchers still cider in the fridge. *Hell, I walked into a music shop in Holmfirth during the folk festival last weekend and they had a real ale beer pump and real cider box in there for sale. *Over the bank holiday my local pub got in 6 boxes of still cider and perry over for the first time and they sold out over the weekend. *Not bad for an audience who have been mainly weaned on the commercial fizzy cider. ***You can see the steady evolution in the general populations tastes over the last 7-8 years from sweeter big brand fizzy cider to the higher quality carbonated products from genuine Hereford, Somerset and Devon apple presses to the still ciders from the same producers. *Amen to that!
A few weeks old, but when I read that Greene King had been caught out doing a Take That and avoiding huge amounts of tax to the HMRC and the final appeal had failed, a very happy cheer went up for my least favourite “beer” producer and personal top 3 ranked worst pub company. *They now face paying twice as much they originally tried to avoid. *The scheme involved a circle of companies making loans to each other to get tax relief on interest paid to another group company without that other company paying tax on the income it received. *Crap beer that even the pub managers at their own pubs don’t want to drink and crap professional advice to match, they deserve it.
Greene King tried to wriggle out of its bad judgement, in a scheme a Ernst and Young whistleblower said was rated internally as having a 25% chance of getting past the tax man, quoting “We understand, as many people do, the difference between tax evasion and tax efficiency…..the opportunism that is being displayed by both HMRC and parts of the government in this area is a little unfortunate”. **The greed and opportunism is all from Greene King and when you get caught with your fingers in the pie, you get burnt. *In a strange coincidence 25% is the same chance of passing something off produced at the Greene King brewery as a drinkable beer if the drinker had been on a diet of Special Brew all his life.
More... (http://www.seanliquorish.co.uk/blog/?p=1578)
The style of most drinks you can recognise by the category they fall into, ale, lager, cider, wheat beer etc. *But I came across one which takes some working out, the “spider” market sector. *Not immediately obvious is it, but it means “spirit cider” or for those of us are not so gullible “alcopop”. *I do wish drinks manufacturers would just admit what these drinks are instead of coming up with terms like this and my personal bane, the “fruit ciders” which have never seen a apple press in their life.
From the same people that brought you WKD we now have Orwells Amaretto Cider with “a hint of cherry, with a taste reminiscent of Bakewell Tart”. **I’m trying to imagine what this would be like and I’m afraid it’s coming across overly sweet cider with the slightest hint of the spirit if you have the imagination of JK Rowling. *They came up with this wonderful marketing line “This demonstrates that there is still plenty of stretch within the cider category to accommodate this new spirit cider sector, which brings together two categories which are both credible and highly motivating for consumers”. *I think there is a bull needing a shit in the field next door and would like it back.
Mentioned in the same article on the Morning Advertiser is that flavoured cider makes up 47% of the on trade premium packaged cider. *A nice twist on statistics there. *The fact is that 90% of “on trade premium packaged cider” sold across the country will be Bulmers, Magners, Kopparberg or Rekorderlig, all of which have a significant product range in this category. *It tries to make it sound like apple cider and perry is being caught up, not mentioning the fact that most cider of this type is served via pump on the bar or via box in the fridge, hence not even counting towards the other 53%. *Look around and many pubs will have an Old Rosie, Rosie Pig, Thatchers or Aspalls among others on tap. *Even the most tied down pubs will have a Strongbow or a Somersby on.
Many will also have at least a box of Westons or Thatchers still cider in the fridge. *Hell, I walked into a music shop in Holmfirth during the folk festival last weekend and they had a real ale beer pump and real cider box in there for sale. *Over the bank holiday my local pub got in 6 boxes of still cider and perry over for the first time and they sold out over the weekend. *Not bad for an audience who have been mainly weaned on the commercial fizzy cider. ***You can see the steady evolution in the general populations tastes over the last 7-8 years from sweeter big brand fizzy cider to the higher quality carbonated products from genuine Hereford, Somerset and Devon apple presses to the still ciders from the same producers. *Amen to that!
A few weeks old, but when I read that Greene King had been caught out doing a Take That and avoiding huge amounts of tax to the HMRC and the final appeal had failed, a very happy cheer went up for my least favourite “beer” producer and personal top 3 ranked worst pub company. *They now face paying twice as much they originally tried to avoid. *The scheme involved a circle of companies making loans to each other to get tax relief on interest paid to another group company without that other company paying tax on the income it received. *Crap beer that even the pub managers at their own pubs don’t want to drink and crap professional advice to match, they deserve it.
Greene King tried to wriggle out of its bad judgement, in a scheme a Ernst and Young whistleblower said was rated internally as having a 25% chance of getting past the tax man, quoting “We understand, as many people do, the difference between tax evasion and tax efficiency…..the opportunism that is being displayed by both HMRC and parts of the government in this area is a little unfortunate”. **The greed and opportunism is all from Greene King and when you get caught with your fingers in the pie, you get burnt. *In a strange coincidence 25% is the same chance of passing something off produced at the Greene King brewery as a drinkable beer if the drinker had been on a diet of Special Brew all his life.
More... (http://www.seanliquorish.co.uk/blog/?p=1578)