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Source: http://www.beveragebusiness.com/bbcontent/art98/ponti0606B.html
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By summer's end there will be a new kind of brew on the block coming our way from Dallas, Texas by way of a New York State brewery. It's called Stampede Light and, hold onto your ten-gallon hats, this light beer's got added vitamins in it. As far as beers in America go, this is the first product of its kind. A conversation with Lawrence Schwartz, President & CEO of The Stampede Brewing Company, revealed the idea behind - and goals for - this new direction for beer. It was launched in Dallas last November and so far, according to Schwartz, the feedback has been positive. He comments, "The response has been good. One of the things that we found out first when we came out with the beer is that it was probably a little bit too strong. We scaled it back and made it a little bit more consistent to what people are used to with a commercial light beer." One major issue that's been a thorn in the side of Stampede is the on-going battle with the Department of Treasury that regulates all beer and wine. Although Stampede is officially government approved, the process for getting this approval was a tricky one. "It was very long and painful and expensive," says Schwartz, adding, "We're working with the government and they have been very helpful." Schwartz also says that they've been trying to gain approval to be a little bit clearer on what's inside of the beer. "The government would not let us put any of the vitamins on the packaging because it was an implied health claim," explains Schwartz. "We had to come back to them and say we understand that but consumers need to know what's inside the products they eat or drink." Schwartz also cites freedom of speech and expression: "It's kind of a First Amendment issue and, like I said, they were helpful and they worked with us and said you know you're right, let's work on this together and figure out something that's good for the consumer as far as an appropriate statement of composition," he explains. "The funny thing about government code on contents of alcoholic beverages, I can't go out and put in on my label right now, but guess what? Put me on TV doing interviews, (and) I can say whatever I want. That's the irony of it - as long as I'm not paying for it, I can say whatever I want," says Schwartz. Government red tape aside, how did Schwartz get the idea for vitamin-infused beer in the first place? Prior to the Stampede project, Schwartz worked for several years at Anheuser-Busch, then started his own software company and has authored some fitness books. "As I was kind of thinking about the next chapter of my life, I started thinking about things that I like along with things I know something about. I know fitness and health and, from a business perspective, I like the beer business." Once he had the idea of merging health with beer, then it was time to come up with a business plan. He considered starting a beer company and launching it in a manner similar to Pete's Wicked Ale or Sam Adams but he also wanted to do something a little more unique with his product. "Our goal is to be an alcoholic beverage company that infuses our products with different vitamins, herbs and other potentially healthy additives. Stampede Light was our first foray into that." For advice, Schwartz sought the council of Dr. Joseph Owades, the late light beer legend, who initially was skeptical at the idea of a vitamin infused beer. "He thought it was kind of funny, he'd never heard of such a thing, and he thought it was going to be very difficult because putting vitamins in might change the complexion or the taste of the beer." Schwartz also enlisted the help of someone who had done it before: Pete Schlossberg of Pete's Wicked Ale. "Pete became one of my board members and showed me how he started Pete's and how he launched it," says Schwartz, adding that the launch of Stampede Light was identical to the launch of Pete's Wicked Ale, just with a different formula, a different name and a little different angle. As for what you'll find in a bottle of Stampede Light, Schwartz shed quite a bit of light on that. "It's got B vitamins (1,2,3,4,6, and 9), folic acid, foliate, and it's got white oak chips in it which give it kind of a more robust flavor than a typical light beer." Schwartz says that Dr. Owades looked at some of the vitamins that are depleted when you drink alcohol, and that's where Stampede started. They also looked at the different vitamins that have some kind of bio-mechanical impact when you drink which helped decide on what to add. As for the alcohol content, it's about the same as Budweiser. Stampede Light's target demographic, according to Schwartz, is the 24- to 34-year-old hip, affluent consumer. A 6-pack retails in Dallas for between $6.99 and $7.99, putting it into the super premium category. When asked the question of whether Stampede is trying to tell people it's ok to drink more beer Schwartz was quick to respond: "Absolutely not. I want to make that point very clear. The government is watching that and (neither) I nor our company promote that drinking our beer is a substitute for taking vitamins," he says. The message Schwartz hopes to get across is that if you're going to drink alcohol and you're going to drink beer, why not drink a beer that's got some added vitamins that are in the beer? "The levels are low enough that a person would have to drink a large amount of our beer in a very short period of time," says Schwartz. National beer expert and beverage contributor Lew Bryson was asked his reaction to forthcoming Boston launch of Stampede Light. "First, it's ridiculous that the government won't allow Schwartz to say what the "+" is in his beer, but it's true - they won't. What's even more ridiculous is that anti-alcohol types are pushing for nutritional labeling on beer and blaming brewers for it not being there. Go figure," says Bryson. He does however wonder if Stampede could end up being another passing trend. "I've seen a lot of upstart 'different idea' light beers in the past 15 years. I've seen fruity light beers, gay light beers, local light beers, sexy light beers, club-themed light beers, biker light beers, but I've never seen any of them last more than three years," he says. "Every one of them has been floated on the idea that they'll sell like craft beer, thinking craft beers sell because they're local or small or have a cute name. Craft beers sell on quality and taste, with a strong local loyalty component," adds Bryson. He also maintains that light beer sales are not driven by taste, health benefits or segment loyalty but rather by big-budget marketing and advertising. "I could be wrong: Stampede Light could be the next Michelob Ultra, but I strongly doubt it since they don't have Anheuser-Busch's army of sales reps to get it out there. I wish Larry Schwartz luck with this, it's a tall order." From a medical standpoint, Dr. Harvey Finkel, also a regular beverage contributor offered his thoughts: "My overall cynical reaction is that it's a cheap trick and that it's just a marketing ploy and it serves no purpose. If it adds one penny to the cost of the beer, it's not worth it," he says. Finkel also thinks that beer is not the place to look for vitamins, saying, "Anybody who needs added vitamins in their alcohol beverages is in real trouble because they should be getting it from their diet." He raises a caution flag about perceptions some consumers may have about Stampede Light. "One danger is that people are going to feel like they are getting something healthy and they should drink more of it." He also contends that beer should not be considered a food in terms of adding nutrition. Dr. Finkel does concede though that, like anything else, "If they enjoy it and drink it in moderation then more power to them," adding that "beer is not unhealthy except in excessive quantities." We'll have to wait and see what Massachusetts' reaction will be to Stampede Light. Schwartz remained very tight-lipped about marketing plans but made it quite clear that we'll be made well aware of its arrival. |