I have been thinking a lot about beer adjectives today because I stumbled upon this nifty little automatic beer review generator.

It got me thinking that a lot of the adjectives are used euphemistically. ‘Refreshing’, ‘crisp’, ‘smooth’ and ‘sessional’ are all often used to appropriately describe beers that, how shall we put this, don’t really provide a flavour-based speed bump to consumption volumes. However, there are two adjectives that are often used as synonyms of these that perhaps aren’t being used accurately. These are ‘satisfying’ and ‘thirst quenching’.

The dictionary defines these terms as:

Satisfy (Sat-is-fy)
verb
1. To cause to have enough; supply fully the needs of; put an end to (an appetite of want) by fully satisfying it.
2. Fulfilling a need or desire so that it no longer affects or motivates behaviour.

Quench (kwench)
verb
1. Extinguish, stifle or satisfy (thirst or desire).

Now, forgive me, but isn’t this the opposite of the effect that brewers of pale lagers are actually seeking? I am constantly being told that a brewery can’t survive by making beers that beer drinkers can only drink one of; that for a brewery to succeed you need to make beer that drinkers can drink at least three of four of…you know, have a ‘session’ on.

That doesn’t sound like a beer that ‘satisfies’ or ‘quenches’. ‘Sessional’ is almost by definition the antonym of ‘satisfying’, not a synonym for it. Of course, ‘sessional’ sounds much more inviting than ‘unsatisfying’ and I can understand why it is used, but to describe a beer designed to be sessionable as ‘satisfying’ would actually seem to be holding out a false promise for the beer’s flavour properties.

But maybe I’m just being semantic. Anyway, I digress.

Below is a media release from Lion announcing that XXXX Summer Bright Lager will be available on tap, in Queensland initially, from March. It happened to mention SBL was both “refreshing” AND “seriously thirst-quenching”, which sparked the above reverie.

It’s an interesting step for the beer. I had presumed the clear glass bottle was one of its major attractions. But then again, whilst very similar in visual and flavour cues to Corona, it’s a beer that doesn’t come with the same theatre of adding the lime or lemon to the bottle so it will be interesting to see how it makes the leap to draught. It says a lot about the changing palates of the 18-30s if it takes off, and I wonder which of Lion’s other brands it will be replacing, though have been advised by Lion:

It won’t be necessarily replacing any Lion product, but more so strengthening their contemporary tap offering.

The worst performing tap in each venue is most likely to be replaced, although it’s hard to determine what that would be.

The beer will be available at a limited run of 250 venues in Queensland initially. I haven’t been supplied a list of these 250 venues but, if you’re in Queensland and wanted to try it on tap, I’m pretty sure you won’t have to travel too far.

Media Release

XXXX Summer Bright Lager taps into local venues

In good news for fans of XXXX Summer Bright Lager, the refreshing brew will be available on-tap in nearly 250 venues across Queensland from March.

The move has been largely driven by a desire by XXXX to continue to offer more choice to its consumers.

Jon Bradshaw, Lion Brands Director, said: “With the continued success of XXXX Summer Bright Lager, we were keen to provide our consumers with a tap option for when they visit their local. We know our consumers prefer tap beer when they are on-premise.”

In addition to consumer demand, the move to on-tap has been motivated by positive feedback from trade customers.

“We’re seeing an increasing demand for XXXX Summer from our trade customers. XXXX Summer has been extremely successful not only in Queensland but nationally, contributing incremental growth to the market. Our on-premise customers in Queensland have been asking us for a tap variant for some time now. In Queensland, where the brand has been established for longer, we at XXXX now feel the time is right to extend our range into the core on-premise format,” said Bradshaw.

“From a trade perspective, the fact that XXXX Summer is now on tap enables our trade customers to increase their margins and still access the XXXX Summer opportunity,” said Bradshaw.

For more information visit www.XXXXsummer.com.au.

About XXXX Summer Bright Lager

XXXX Summer Bright Lager is a refreshing lager with a fruity aroma and smooth hop character which balances the light malt flavour to create a seriously thirst-quenching beer. The beer is full strength and low in carbohydrates. The beer is also free from artificial additives and preservatives.

XXXX Summer Bright Lager comes in a stylish, clear bottle and features bright orange, white and yellow packaging. A six-pack is priced at RRP $13.99 and RRP $44.99 for a carton of 24.