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Draft Comes Back!
Draft beer, and in this context I mean beer not bottled or canned, was for millenia the only form of beer. Only after a reasonably inexpensive way of putting it into airtight containers was invented could it even be shipped. For further centuries that container was some sort of barrel.
In a sense, draft is the most natural form of beer. Many think it superior to bottled or canned beer in flavor and aroma, and I’m solidly in that camp.
Since the 19th Century more and more laws have been created that prohibit the carrying of open containers of draft beer away from a licensed premises (which used to be a prevalent practice), causing bottled and canned beer to become more and more important to the profitability of brewers and distributors. In the era of modern marketing that trend has increased.
In addition, one thing very important to the marketing of a beer is the label on a bottle, what we call “Badge Value”. When a bottle is served it stands before its buyer, proudly displaying its artwork. This artwork and its logo produce a brand identity independent of a beer’s quality, flavor, and presentation. A glass of draft beer doesn’t carry the brand identity throughout a dining room and cocktail lounge. But at its core, we all know that what a beer is consists of quality, flavor, and presentation.
There was a period beginning in the 1980s when bottle or ‘package’ beer was recognized as more profitable than draft beer, and better for the brand. As margins began to be tightly squeezed, distributors tended to delay or eliminate expenses related to draft beer, such as in-house line cleaning, training staff to ensure the freshness of draft kegs, and other related costs.
Trouble can arise, however, when draft beer at on-premise accounts is not cared for and presents less than favorably. When potential package customers taste a draft beer brand not at its best, it can slow or stop the sale of the same product bottled or canned.
So when I see those things—quality, flavor, and presentation, being carried back to the fore, and brewers and distributors making investments in them, as is happening today, it seems a good thing to me.
