At school only two things really got my intellectual muscles stimulated – unofficial art lessons where crafting teacher caricatures took precedence over politics or poetry, and the other was history. From an early age I was fascinated by events that took place long ago and which could be linked to the things that we do, say or think today.

Family holidays always included places of historical interest and I can remember wandering old country towns reading old signs and plaques and imagining life spent in another era. I always felt it imperative that someone somewhere along the way took the responsibility for preserving elements of the past.

Head Brewer, Mike Unsworth raises a glass to Cascade’s new look.
(Pic Courier Mail)

Some years ago now, with my own family in tow, I visited the Cascade Brewery in Hobart for the first time. ‘How good is this?’ I’m thinking as Mrs Pilsner selects accommodation that is a mere 10 minute walk from the brewery itself! (A topographical map would have dampened my enthusiasm somewhat had I realised the steep incline awaiting the unwary after the visit).

But what really got me thinking was that I knew very little of the history of the brewery whose beers I had enjoyed for many years. Why did I not know more? Why had the many labels that had graced the distinctive Cascade bottles not conveyed more of the rich heritage of the company that bottled the beer? Later, as my career in beer grew and I had visited the brewery and met with its key staff in a more official capacity I began to ask the same questions.

So, ‘why has Cascade hidden its heritage from its drinkers and from those who may become regular drinkers if the history was celebrated?’

Perhaps the Cascade Brewing Company, under the direction of parent company SAB-Miller, is at last looking to embrace what makes it special, what makes it a bit different – even, maybe, what makes it sit comfortably somewhere between mainstream and craft?

Cascade last week launched its new ‘look’. New heritage bottle (still at 375ml it should be noted) harking back to the days when beer came in distinctive brown glass, bearing labels that celebrate the history of the brand. Gone is the new-age trendy Cascade Pure with its claims of minimal carbon footprinting and, in its place, a new Cascade Bright Ale. Completing the ‘team’ are a new-recipe Cascade Blonde and a ‘re-crafted’ Cascade Premium Lager along with an unchanged Stout and Pale Ale.

Professional Beer Historians will happy to see that although the year 1824 appears embossed on each bottle, the marketing department assures drinkers that this refers to the age of the company that became Cascade Brewery Co. rather than to the commencement of brewing operations. Although it is difficult to know how they would source this information. Australian Brews News, perhaps? Hobart, Tasmania is also proudly displayed, confirming the historical significance of the brewery’s birthplace.

The range now has a nicely uniform look, the key elements combining to give strength and purpose to the brand which many believe has been sadly ignored in the past. The re-launch also sees Cascade beers available in 4 rather than 6 packs and ‘cubes’ of 16 in place of the more familiar carton, case or slab depending on your own home state.

Perhaps the most interesting change is the drop in alcohol in the Cascade Premium Lager from 5% to 4.5%. The reasoning, as given by CUBcraft beer general manager Craig MacLean, is not cost but consumer-driven taste preference. Brewers and test drinkers alike preferred the lower alcohol brew to the regular one, as well as claiming that “Cascade was thought {by SAB Miller MD, Ari Mervis} to have become ‘too trendy’”. You’d think after the VB episode that SAB Miller would be as toey as a Roman sandal when it comes to changing recipes and achieving lower alcohol levels in the process, deliberate or otherwise.

As we are always want to do here at Brews News, we will let the beer do the talking as far as taste goes and let the good readers determine whether or not the new look Cascade is what the brand and the brewery needs to take it forward into a world where so much good beer is available.

Look out for the fresh new Cascade beers from September 17.

http://www.afr.com/p/national/weaker_cascade_beer_promises_to_LrJkXbR5TWtyBv3UNbRtiI