Down Under
Aussie rock bands topped the charts at an event last month where a crowd sampled their first taste of Black Wattle Ale.
The brew is just one in a line of Australian craft beers now entering the U.S. market.
Barons Brewing Co. staged the concert at The Delancey, a popular three-level night club on New York’s Lower East Side, to introduce four styles of premium beer: its flagship brand Black Wattle, Barons Lager, Barons Pale Ale and Barons’ ESB (Extra Special Bitter).
The beer was free. So too, was the shrimp on the barbie and meat pie, whose ingredients were marinated in Black Wattle.
In addition to the Big Apple, the brews are making their debut in Los Angeles, San Diego, Florida and Colorado, where they will be sold in restaurants, bars and grocery stores.
“The demographic we’re going after enjoys going out to good bars and nice restaurants,” says Scott Garnett, a founder and managing director of Barons Brewing in Australia. “All of that was wrapped up in this event.”
Garnett plans to replicate the party across multiple markets as the beer rolls out with a goal to sell a half-million cases in the first year. The brews are available in six-packs selling for $9.99 each. Long-range plans call for introducing Barons, which is being distributed by United States Beverage, in all 50 states.
Prior to its U.S. debut, Barons, founded in 2003, was sold only in Australia, reporting sales of $400,000 in 2006.
