Cask and Still Magazine | 79
BARREL Over a
Scotch whisky’s success in Asia has paved the way for our beers, as Chris Miller of the Craft Beer Clan found on his recent trip when consumers were also thirsty for Scottish craft beers...
hina. Zhongguo. The Middle Kingdom. Poised once more, after a 200-year ‘blip’, to become the centre of the global economy. It is already
the largest beer market in the world. In premium spirits, China is dominated by their own ‘baijiu’ – Chinese White Spirits – but for some years now, the country has been the focus for growth and opportunity for the major players in premium Cognac and Scotch whisky. Within this context, I set out last year with
my fellow ‘Clansmen’ for my virgin China experience, with a portfolio of Scottish craft beers drawn from our partners Williams Bros of Alloa, Eden Brewery in St Andrews, Inveralmond from Perth, and Deeside Brewery. Our destination was the ‘WhiskyL!’ festivals in Beijing and Shanghai, to engage with trade and consumers to discover whether single malt consumers would learn to love Scottish craft beer as we do. China may be the world’s largest beer
market, but is also the world’s blandest. The absence of hops in local production means the fl avour profi le of Chinese beer is low European Bitterness Units (EBU) and light in fl avour. Craft beers – which are growing fast from a tiny base in China – are dominated by Belgian and American brands. So, what would the whisky consumer in China make of the burgeoning number of Scottish craft beers? I arrived on a baking hot day in smoggy
Beers with unusual Scottish provenance were among the most
popular of all
Beijing unprepared for what was to come. We were blessed to be hosted on the stand by our distribution partner, Single Malt Club China. Our stand was mobbed from the outset by people of all ages and, notably, both genders. We were very surprised by the trends that we found. Our assumption that offering lighter beers would be popular was partly correct , but many asked for something more challenging and wanted to know the stories. What are the ingredients? Where is it from in Scotland? It was no surprise to us that the cask-fi nished
offerings from Eden Brewery were a big hit. So much so that we had to hide them from thirsty punters to preserve stocks. However, the real revelation was that styles of beer with unusual Scottish provenance were among the most popular of all – for example, Williams Bros’ beer Alba, which is made with Scots Pine. Even more surprising was that it was female consumers who returned time and again to try more of these styles. This experience was repeated in Shanghai . Scotch whisky has built a beach-head for
Brand Scotland to expand into emerging markets in Asia, where our fantastic food and drinks have enormous cachet. As brewers, Beijing and Shanghai proved that this opportunity is huge if we can capture the imagination of the same types of consumers who enjoy single malt whisky. And Scotland now has an arsenal of 80+ breweries to tackle the challenge. The future’s bright.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84