When the invitation arrived a couple of weeks ago for a media event to launch a new beer from Moosehead, I was inclined to ignore it. It's been a busy month for me, and Moosehead isn't known for making the most exciting or adventurous beers around. The invitation was purposefully vague, not revealing the name or even style of the beer, although I half-expected that it might be their attempt to shoehorn their way into the increasingly popular white beer segment of the specialty beer market. But whatever it ended up being, I really wasn't that interested.
Then, though, I noticed where the launch was taking place: Canoe, recently crowned the best restaurant in the city by Toronto Life, and the place where chef Anthony Walsh and his team are renowned for creating outstanding dishes from the best of Canada's bounty. Hell, I'd show up at Canoe for a launch of cow urine soda, let alone a new Moosehead beer.
And besides, I reckoned that even if the beer was crap, it probably couldn't be worse than bovine pee pop.
While the Canoe event at 12 noon last Tuesday was the official unveiling for this new national brand, some details were leaked that morning via an article in the New Brunswick Business Journal which revealed that the beer was called Cracked Canoe, and would be a "premium light beer" (3.5% abv, less than 100 calories) aimed at more affluent consumers aged 30 and up, a demographic rarely targeted by the mainstream breweries.
Even though the surprise was ruined, I still made my way down to the TD Tower on my lunch break and headed up to the 54th floor where Canoe is perched. Directed to the private dining and event room, I was struck first by the stellar view over the lake that Canoe is well-known for, and second by the overwhelming amount of Cracked Canoe stuff placed carefully around the room; cases, cans, bottles and banners, all showing the clean and sleek white-on-black packaging design that is a complete 180 in style from trusty ol' Moosehead Lager.
The food was as excellent as I'd hoped and expected. Nicely rare roast beef was being served up at a carving station, and servers were weaving through the room with trays of delicious canapés including mushroom and goat cheese tarts, spicy mini-samosas, and double-baked baby potatoes stuffed with Yarmouth lobster. If every beer launch had food this good, I'd be even more of a Fatty McFatterson than I already am.
While we all worked on expanding our waistlines, brewery president Andrew Oland gave a short speech, followed by a sales and marketing rep who went into a PowerPoint presentation that featured plenty of info about branding and consumer trends and market shares and demographics, and next to nothing about the actual beer. In fact, I found it interesting - but not especially surprising - that there were a good number of sales, marketing and brand development reps from Moosehead in the room, but no brewmaster on hand to tell us how the beer was developed and created. The closest we got was a quick mention of Cracked Canoe being better than other light beers because "it's brewed longer", or as the trademarked slogan says, it's "The. Slow. Brewed. Beer".
The brand, it seems, is much more important than the beer itself. Which is, again, not especially surprising.
And what of the beer? Well, think of any mainstream light lager you've ever tried, and you'll be right in the ballpark. It's has a very pale yellow hue with an fluffy white head, and a not-unpleasant aroma and flavour that my tasting notes describe simply as "vaguely beer-like". The body is crisp, the palate is clean, and the finish is short with the faintest hint of hops. I had no problem downing two of them in 45 minutes, but I could've done the same with water and had pretty much the same result, i.e. a strong urge to urinate and not even a hint of inebriation.
To be blunt, Cracked Canoe is a beer for people who care more about image than substance. The PR bumpf makes it clear that Moosehead is going after the drinkers of such image-driven imports as Corona, Heineken and Stella Artois, using a combination of sharp-looking packaging and reminders that Moosehead is proudly Canadian-owned. I'm realistic enough to accept that it's the way the game is played in the world of big beer, so I just do what I can to avoid spending a lot of time in that world.
Unless they have good catering, of course.
I disagree with your statement "Cracked Canoe is a beer for people who care more about image than substance." Not everyone knows what's approachable to drink beyond a Stella or Heineken and Cracked Canoe may just interest the mainstream beer drinker to try something new at the taps.
Media events tend to attract the marketing professionals within a particular industry, as the point of a brewery's operation is believe it or not, to make money. The point of these events is to be about getting the word of the product out, hence all of the copy, placement and presentations you experienced that day. Perhaps you would have been better off contacting the brewery or brewmaster directly to help quantify the reasons as to why the beer is proclaimed to be better, against your judgment of it being "Vaguely beer-like".
Thanks for your comments, DS.
Regarding the "image vs. substance" argument - I actually feel that way about most mainstream beer. It would be hard for most people to distinguish 2 or more pale mainstream lagers from each other in a blind taste test. If you poured a Canadian into a glass and served it to a Blue drinker, how many of them would actually be able to tell the difference?
That's why marketing and branding is so important for the big brewers. They know that people who drink their beer primarily do so for reasons that have nothing to do with the beer itself, but rather with the brand and the way it's presented and promoted to them. (And that's not just my anti-corporate-whack-job opinion - it's backed up in plenty of the books and articles I've read about the brewing industry.)
As I note at the end of my article, I fully accept that this is the way things are in the mainstream beer world. I certainly don't have any illusions that my reviews and rants are going to make any difference in that regard. But I still like to have some fun with it and exaggerate my fist-shaking, support-the-little-guy persona when I'm writing about these sort of things.
And yeah, the know that packaging and marketing is equally important in the craft beer market as well. But at least there, the beer usually doesn't play second fiddle to the brand. Even if people are initially attracted to a craft brew based on a nice looking label, it's the distinctness and uniqueness that are the ultimate selling points of a great craft beer.
So yes, I think that Cracked Canoe is a product that will succeed (assuming it does) based on image over substance. Moosehead themselves describe it as being "something lighter in taste" in comparison to other pale lagers which are already quite bland, so if anything, they're aiming to make a product that is even LESS substantial and distinctive than the competition, at least in terms of the beer itself.
But it's got a beautiful package, a great marketing campaign, and if it makes Moosehead a lot of money, good for them. I certainly don't begrudge them that. But I still don't think it's a very good beer when judged as a beer alone. Even as far as light lagers go, the best I can say about it has no noticeable brewing flaws, so I guess it's technically well-made - but it's also bland and boring. Personally, I want a bit more character in beers that I drink. Maybe that makes me different from most people, but they're not the ones writing these reviews - I am. ;)
Hi Greg,
Thanks for the review! I appreciate hearing the various opinions of the people who attended the media event. Your review is actually quite different from your that of your fellow beer patron Franca Schulte from everyjoe.com.
I do though find it interesting that your article focuses on image over substance of the beer. You get quite excited at the beginning of the article about the fact that the event is being held at "Canoe" which is surely more image than actual susbstance. ;)
Thanks again, keep up the good work.
-RJ
RJ: Your interpretation of my excitement about the event being held at Canoe is incorrect.
Perhaps Moosehead chose Canoe as a venue primarily due to Canoe's image - the view is rather impressive, after all. But I was looking forward to the food. The substance, quite literally.
RJ - Really? That's kind of site/review you're touting in response to an actual reasoned critique of the product? Half of the review you mention is lifted directly from the press package. The other half is so badly written it's embarrassing - for the writer and for Moosehead.