Cold weather friends: winter beers warm the spirit and give customers a change of pace

Cheers, Nov-Dec, 2003 by Mike Sherer

When the weather turns and the days grow shorter, people look for someplace warm and cheerful to congregate. They gather in bars and restaurants to celebrate holidays and socialize with family and friends. And more often than not, they'll order something to warm their insides as well as their spirits. In winter, customers often turn to stronger, more flavorful beverages. They're not just ordering Irish Coffee and hot toddies, though. More and more people are discovering winter beers,too. Their big, bold flavors make them interesting to drink, and the wide variety of styles available gives customers a lot to choose from and more reasons to keep coming back.

The holidays, especially, put people in a festive mood, making them more willing to try something different and splurge on something special.

"There's definitely an 'eggnog' factor," said Dave Brodrick, owner of Blind Tiger in New York. "Some people like the spiced beers. Beer people like winter beers because they're more complex and show what brewers can really do."

It's that 'winter warmer' concept," agreed Mike Cooper, general manager of Deschutes Brewery Public House, Bend, OR. "If you go into a brewpub with your friends, you probably won't go for a cognac, but you might go for a stronger, darker beer."

SPECIAL EVENTS

Customers also look forward to winter beers because they're special and available for only a short time.

"People look forward to a beer coming out every year," said John Lane, partner, Winking Lizard, Cleveland. "They like to taste it every year and try to compare the changes from the previous year, even when the brewer says the recipe stays the same."

The holidays are just start of the winter been season, though. While some breweries release beers that are specifically geared to the holidays, a growing number are making winter seasonals available for a longer period of time or introducing additional styles in January, February and March.

Winking Lizard likes to limit the number of winter beers it offers to focus customers' attention on just a few choices and keep a better handle on inventory levels. When the holidays are over, sales of seasonals fall off dramatically.

"The hype of the holidays gets everyone in the spirit," Lane said. "January is a reality check. Anything that says 'holidays' is dead, but customers will continue to drink heavier beers."

A lot of those heavier beers--porters, stouts, bocks and such--are available year round from many brewers. But the seasonals can be so unusual and fun to drink that some operators bring in as many as they can. Monk's Cafe & Beer Emporium in Philadelphia, for example, stocks about 30 to 35 holiday beers and continue to sell them well into January in addition to new winter beers that are released.

"We have an unusual market," said Tom Peters, owner. "We can sell a case of Old Rasputin in the height of summer, so our customers are nearly always up for big, bold beers. But we definitely sell more beer in the winter than the summer in terms of dollar sales."

MAKE THEM MOVE

Though many of your customers may eagerly anticipate winter beers, merchandising and promoting them helps make them more visible to customers unfamiliar with seasonals. It also makes these beers appear as special as they are.

Announce them with fanfare. Let your customers know when special seasonal beers arrive. Blind Tiger's Brodrick sends out an e-mail in advance to about 800 people to announce the arrival of new beers. Then he includes the announcement in the "Ale Street News" newsletter, sends one to the New York press and puts it up on the bar's website.

At Deschutes' Public House, the arrival of the brewew's annual Jubelale is celebrated by parading the first keg into the bar. The event is fun for both employees and customers and attracts a lot of attention.

Showcase winter seasonals. Put a spotlight on seasonals by creating events that feature different styles or beers from different countries of regions. Redbones, Somerville, MA, stages themed "festivals" featuring diffferent beers. For its Northwest festival in November, the bar brought in beers from about 30 breweries in the Pacific Northwest it normally isn't able to stock. The beers will last into January. In March, Redbones will have a stout and porter fest with oysters.

Blind Tiger hosts an event almost every Wednesday night throughout the year. About half a dozen or more beers are featured, usually with several artisanal cheeses. Brodrick has an ice beer festival planned in December, and likely will host a winter warmer festival in January and feature barley wines sometime in February.

Each year Monk's Cafe hosts a "vertical" tasting of a different seasonal. Many of the winter beers are conducive to aging, according to Peters, so he sets aside kegs from several brewers. This year he's considering a tasting of Victory's Old Horizontal and a bottled tasting of Anchor Brewing's Our Special Ale.

Dress them up. Winter beers are not only special, but also stronger than most of the beers you serve year-round. Using special glassware attracts attention and tells customers these beers are unusual. Redbones, for example, serves beers like Victory Storm King Stout, an Imperial stout, in a 10-ounce goblet.