Beer brand extensions take ‘Jerusalem’ theme

Wells & Young’s Brewing Company, the Bedford-based speciality beer
company, is launching two new beers under the Bombardier brand as part
of a major category management initiative. The two new products include
a light ale, Burning Gold, and a dark beer…

Wells & Young’s Brewing Company, the Bedford-based speciality beer company, is launching two new beers under the Bombardier brand as part of a major category management initiative. The two new products include a light ale, Burning Gold, and a dark beer, Satanic Mills.

W&YBC managing director Nigel McNally says the two beers have been developed as part of a research programme into the premium bottled beers, ales and stouts market. He says: “We found that consumers divide up the market into light, flavoured, traditional and dark. We came up with a new category management system based on those divisions and presented it to the major multiple retailers – and they were in support of it.”

W&YBC also realised it did not have brands in either the light or the dark category – hence the decision to extend the Bombardier brand with the two new products, explains McNally.

The new beers’ names were inspired by William Blake’s Jerusalem, which McNally says has strong appeal with the core real ale drinking market.

Marketing for the two beers will be included in the £2.5m spend planned for the Bombardier brand this year, which includes a major sponsorship deal with comedian Al Murray.

W&YBC is a joint venture between London brewer Young’s and Bedford-based brewer Charles Wells.