EXTREME CUISINE: Champagne Marries Beer

The Beverage Wedding of the Century Asia Pacific Breweries has created a new beverage that complements the qualities of beer and champagne.” Brewed with champagne yeast 5.5% alcohol content Sweet taste with a whiff of chardonnay There is a positive outlook for Asian beer imports in the U.S. From 1999 to 2003, the import share of the US beer market rose from 9.1% to 11.9%*. “People are drinking less, but they’re drinking smarter and they’re drinking better,” says Darrell Jursa, a managing partner of the Chicago-based marketing agency Liquid Intelligence**. Asian Beers are classified as “Specialty Beers” in the U.S., and are primarily purchased at Asian restaurants. The goal for these brands is to be purchased at the grocery store and taken home or to parties, etc. To take advantage of this “Specialty Beer” trend, as well as to create a new hybrid that could attract enthusiasts of the fizzy “alcopop”*** craze, Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), Heineken's Asian based partner company, has created a new beverage that complements the qualities of beer and champagne. The name of the newest offering is Touché biere nouvelle, and it is brewed with champagne yeast that gives it an enhanced flavor. The drink is doing well thus far in Singapore, where it is popular among celebrities, and is also being tested in the UK. Touché has a 5.5% alcohol content and the company claims that it has a sweet taste that carries a whiff of Chardonnay grapes. It is sold at a premium price. Andrea Teo, APB’s Head of New Product Development, created Touché. Andrea worked closely with the production department led by Technical Manager and Brewmaster Henk de Bruin. The team hand-crafted over 30 different styles of biere nouvelle they came up with a drink that matched the consumer needs best. They then worked on the detailed specifications to create the taste, texture, color and effervescence that is Touché. *Andres Kaplan, Future of Specialty Beer, 8/04 Beverage WorldSupplement. **Quote from Andres Kaplan’s article, Future of Specialty Beer, 8/04 BeverageWorld Supplement. Contact information for Mr. Jursa can be found by visiting www.liquidintelligence.com. ***Term for sugary alcoholic drinks Source: http://www.beveragedaily.com/news http://www.beverageworld.com/beverageworld/images/pdf/Beers BW Supp 8_04.pdf http://www.apb.com.sg/press/pr27032003.html