Summer 2015 | V.84 ORIGLIO BEVERAGE KEITH VILLA BLUE MOON BREWING CO. Retail Edge Seasonals The Beer Guy New Products Programs FRUIT BEERS GET THEIR TIME IN THE SUN | SUMMER SELECTIONS | SEGMENTATION AND TARGET MARKETING Letter toTHE TRADE URING MY TENURE AS PRESIDENT OF A In This wholesale beer distribution company, I’ve ISSUE Dhad the privilege of speaking to quite a few brewers. More often than not, successful American brewers stumbled upon their careers by happenstance. Some of their stories go like this… Cover Story .........................1 I was backpacking through Europe right after I graduated college, and I tasted some amazing beers. Since I couldn’t buy them at home, I Brewer Highlight .................2 started brewing my own. I was inspired by what I drank over there, but I put my own spin on it. Ardmore Beer Shoppe .........3 Fast forward 30 years. Now the people who live “over there” wish they could have access to even a fraction of the different beers brewed here in the United States. With so much City Tap House to choose from, the American beer scene is the envy of the world. Logan Square .....................4 “While craft beer has energized the beer New Products .....................5 industry, too many people are getting hung up on the distinction between what they Seasonal Selections .............6 perceive as craft and non-craft beer.” Available Year-Round Perfect for the Season ....... 13 While craft beer has energized the beer industry, too many people are getting hung up on the distinction between what they perceive as craft and non-craft beer. Many craft beer consumers assume that any beer made by a large brewery Programs ......................... 14 is garbage. Nothing could be further from the truth. Brewers who work for large companies use quality ingredients to produce consistent, quality products that people enjoy. Some of those beers might not be what you choose to drink, but Retail Edge ...................... 20 let’s all agree that people have the right to enjoy the beer that tastes good to them. It’s their choice! Keep all this in mind when you read our feature article on Blue Moon The Beer Guy ................... 21 Brewmaster Keith Villa. Yes, Blue Moon is a subsidiary of MillerCoors, but Villa is a perfect example of an accomplished craft brewer, who just happens to work for a big company. Villa had every intention of going to medical school. That is until he stumbled upon an opportunity with a brewery that happened to change the direction of his life. I hope you enjoy our latest edition of Heady Times. And as always, thanks for your business. Sincerely, ® Dominic Origlio President Heady Times is published five times a year, courtesy of Origlio Beverage. CoverSTORY Trash Talk Be Gone Keith Villa’s Beers Speak for Themselves HERE IS TRASH TALK IN SPORTS AND NOW THERE with our own inviting twists.” Blue Moon is trash talk in beer. But, Blue Moon Brewmaster beers have been awarded kosher status T Keith Villa isn’t biting. “Our awards speak for because of their quality ingredients and themselves. My focus is on the quality of our beers.” brewing process. Villa is the creative force behind the Artfully Crafted Again speaking of quality, Villa added beers of the Blue Moon Brewing Company, a division that his beers are difficult for competitors of MillerCoors. He created Blue Moon Belgian White to copy. Nor can many of them produce Belgian-style Wheat Ale 20 years ago – well before consistently excellent batches of beer. most American beer drinkers even realized that Belgians “We can analyze our beers. That level of brewed beer. Villa also designed the 10-barrel brew house where the sophistication is a luxury afforded to us by recipe was perfected. You can do those kinds of things when you have a our affiliation with MillerCoors.” PhD in brewing science. The brew house – actually the SandLot Brewpub For Villa, the excitement surrounding Blue – is tucked into right field where the Colorado Rockies play baseball. Moon’s 20th anniversary gives him the “This beer [Blue Moon Belgian White Belgian-style Wheat Ale] wasn’t the opportunity to “do so much more to get product of a focus group,” Villa explained at a beer dinner he recently everybody interested in craft beer.” At the hosted to celebrate its 20th anniversary. “Back then, nobody wanted to beer dinner, he spoke effortlessly about drink a hazy beer and most bars didn’t stock oranges. We introduced the the inspiration and process which resulted orange garnish to accentuate the coriander and citrus notes in the beer. in the creation of Blue Moon White IPA It took a lot of hand-selling and travel to get things going. But it was and Cinnamon Horchata Ale, two of the worth it… We changed the way people experience beer. It took years, brewery’s most recent year-round offerings. but Blue Moon gained traction, people discovered that beer could be “I am third generation Mexican and I want to get flavorful, esoteric and bring out the flavors in food.” Hispanics more interested in craft beer. It was Persistence, innovation, quality ingredients, attention to detail and a pleasure for me to explore the flavors found a desire to give consumers new beers to experience; these are the in Mexican food – the cinnamon, chocolate hallmarks of the American craft beer movement. Villa and his team of and spicy heat. It’s a complex cuisine, and our brewers embrace each of these qualities. And innovators can be ahead Horchata Ale pays tribute to it, while showcasing of their time, as was the case with Villa’s Blue Moon Vintage Blonde Ale. those special ingredients.” Made with Chardonnay grapes, the beer won a total of five awards at the As a pioneer of the Belgian White beer style Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup in 2006. But Villa had in the United States, Villa challenged himself actually first brewed Vintage Blonde back in the 1990s. He shelved the and his team to create a White IPA with the recipe for more than a decade because he didn’t think anyone would try drinkability of a Blue Moon. It had to be a true a Belgian strong pale ale brewed with wine grapes. Belgian-style white ale, first and foremost, yet Despite Villa’s history and track record, some beer lovers scoff at Blue be satisfactory to most hop heads. He was Moon’s tag line, Artfully Crafted. This is where the trash talk comes in. The looking for something in the 47 IBU range. word “craft” is a lightning rod to some beer lovers who allege that big beer That sounds like a straight forward companies are only capable of making inferior beer. They describe any beer proposition, but Villa and his team came up made by large producers with words like garbage and mass-produced swill. with 80 different variations of their White IPA They employ a few more choice adjectives. You can use your imagination. which they analyzed and then tasted with The right to use the word craft has become so contested, that law firm four other brewers. The 80 were widdled Clark & Treglio and a private citizen, Evan Parent recently filed a class down to 15 and the process continued until action lawsuit against MillerCoors in San Diego. Class action lawsuits only six remained in contention. He added, are brought when one party claims that a group of people has suffered “The final product contains Simco, Cascade “substantial injury” at the hand of the named perpetrator. The “perp” in and Citra hops. But it was the addition of this case is MillerCoors. The injuries suffered by consumers, according to German Huell Melon hops that sets this beer the suit, result from MillerCoors’ false portrayal of Blue Moon as “Artfully apart for me. The aroma is fruity and hoppy Crafted.” It also alleges that consumers are misled into paying up to with a surprising hint of melon. I’m happy 50% more, “Via omissions and misrepresentations”. calling this White IPA a Blue Moon. It has all the flavor and drinkability our customers Rather than getting down in the dirt with these sorts of accusations, Villa expect from us, and it still works with food.” remains positive. “We remain dedicated to craft beer. We will always use the highest quality ingredients and deliver our fans classic beer styles Trash talkers, take that. www.origlio.com HeadyTimes v.84 1 BrewerHIGHLIGHT Anthony von Mandl Founder & Chairman of Mike’s Hard Lemonade Co. “Constantly surprising and delighting the company’s other innovative brands consumers in ways they never imagined!” including Cayman Jack Margaritas, T.G.I. Friday’s Ready-to-Drink Cocktails and the VERYBODY THINKS THEY KNOW MIKE’S new Palm Breeze, Mark Anthony Brands is Hard Lemonade, the American beverage icon the undisputed leader in the FMB segment. Ethat took the country by storm when it was launched in 1999, but few know the back story “Mike’s represents the American dream,” von about Mike. Mandl explains. “The one where you could start out with just an idea and create a real Mike is really Anthony von Mandl, Founder & business, one that could drive against even Chairman of The Mark Anthony Group, one of North America’s most the biggest competitors, one that you could diversified and successful private alcoholic beverage companies. With the launch out of your garage with very little creation of Mike’s Hard Lemonade, von Mandl created an entirely new money, making something that consumers beverage category, Flavored Malt Beverages (FMBs), by crafting the first absolutely love and could call their own.” real alternative for men to enjoy on beer drinking occasions.