Crafting a market, Rory Gibson, 1 May 2007, The Courier-Mail"WHAT is the quintessential Aussie beer? What is the one beer you can say is truly imbued with the character of our nation?
Ask five people those questions and you will probably get five different answers, and the selection would most likely be more influenced by personal choice and brand loyalty than any objective reasoning.
The reality is that much of what gives Australian beer its identity comes from marketing. That is understandable given that beer is basically a combination of water, malt, yeast and hops.
But there is a fledgling craft brewing enterprise -- yes, another one in what is clearly a revolution gathering pace in Australia -- that has added something uniquely Australian to one of its beers and as a consequence has snared a multimillion-dollar distribution deal in the US.
Sydney-based Barons has four beers, including a lager, a pale ale and what it calls its Extra Special Bitter.
But it is the company's Black Wattle Ale that has made the world sit up and take notice.
It is a dark beer based on a Scottish ale recipe, but it has had ground roasted wattle seeds added late in the boil to give the beer its own Australiana taste and a lovely reddish hue.
Barons has signed a $30 million deal with importer United States Beverage, which will see about 1.3 million cases of Barons hitting bars and liquor stores in the US.
USB's national distribution network includes most of the leading independent beer distributors in the US, and it will be putting Barons beers in California, New York, Florida and Chicago to start with.
One of the two brains behind Barons is managing director Scott Garnett, who stitched up the American deal.
"We have worked on this agreement for 12 months, including significant due diligence on the US distribution system," he said. "We are delighted to partner with USB, a US national importer that accesses some of the largest and most experienced US premium beer distributors."
And USB is delighted to have Barons on board. Joe Fisch, USB's boss, said the company had been looking for "a great Australian beer".
"We reviewed the Australian beer market for some time looking for great Australian beers that had export potential," he said.
"We expect that Barons will be the largest Australian premium brand across the United States within a short period of time."
The other brain behind Barons is Richard Adamson, the head brewer. While he is proud of all his beers, he acknowledges the importance of the Black Wattle.
"I doubt we would have signed this contract if it wasn't for the Black Wattle Ale," he said. "It has given us an edge because it is an interesting beer to talk about and is uniquely Australian."
The genesis of Barons isn't unusual -- two blokes meet at university, discover shared love for beer, become home brewers to supply their own parties.
"Meeting Scott at uni, neither of us would ever shut up about beer," Richard said. "From drinking the first Coopers available in NSW to arguing over malt and hop amounts in early brews, we've been building towards Barons for years."
They went down separate career paths, Scott as a chartered accountant and Richard as an IT specialist. But eventually they decided to follow their real passion and make beer for a living.
The company's name comes from the desire by the dynamic duo to be beer barons, although Richard does have the title of Lord Richard Adamson, Baron of Sealand, thanks to a title bought off the internet by his prankster parents as a gift.
The fact they had successful careers in business around the world has no doubt helped them get Barons up and running and imminently successful.
They have a healthy roster of investors, a thoroughly researched business plan and plenty of ideas about new beers that could join Black Wattle as distinctly Australian.
What is unusual about Barons is that they have sought to conquer America before establishing themselves to a wider Australian audience.
"The reason we have gone there first is the size of the craft beer market over there is huge, and they are much more open to trying different beers than Australia is at the moment, although that is changing," Richard said.
This distribution contract will help drive the brewer's growth to the point where it is readily available in Queensland, hopefully, and not just in Sydney or San Francisco. "
Labels: Beer News
