FDBusiness.com

Carlsberg UK has launched two new premium brands exclusively in the on-trade. Craft beer, Shed Head and craft cider, Bad Apple, will are now available on draught in bars and pubs.

Shed Head is a 4.6% ABV American pale ale, dry hopped using Cascade and Citra hops, brewed in Falkenberg, Sweden and imported to the UK. The beer is balanced perfectly with bitterness and tropical fruit aromas, providing refreshment and delivering on flavour. Shed Head joins Carlsberg UK’s popular Backyard Brewery range, alongside Lawn Mower and Bee 17, which have both been available in 330ml can format in the UK since 2014.

Bad Apple, an expertly blended 5.1% ABV cider, is the first craft cider in Carlsberg UK’s portfolio. Produced in Herefordshire, it blends four distinctive cider fermentations to produce a tangy, fresh-pressed apple and blossom scent, alongside flavours of sweet, spicy apples, balanced with a crisp, dry mouthfeel and lingering oak taste.

Both Shed Head and Bad Apple will be supported with branded glassware and stand-out fonts which have been designed to communicate each brand’s identity and premium proposition. Carlsberg UK will also be supporting the launches through advertising and sampling throughout the year.

David Scott, Marketing Director at Carlsberg UK, comments: “Innovation and brand building are at the forefront of our approach this year, so we’re thrilled to be growing our premium portfolio. As the craft beer revolution goes from strength-to-strength, we are delighted to introduce Shed Head, a new premium craft beer packed full of flavour that we know beer-drinkers will love. Pale ales are one of the fastest growing styles of beer, representing almost one in three craft beer sales, so now is the perfect time to launch Shed Head to the on-trade, supported by an iconic and unique font which will achieve stand-out on any bar.”

David Scott continues: “Apple cider is worth £1.2bn to the on-trade and represents 73% of all cider². It’s a category that the UK has embraced in recent years, leading to a boom for cider sales. Many drinkers who were introduced to the category during this time will be looking for new and exciting craft cider brands as their palates have developed. We’re confident Bad Apple will be a perfect fit for them as it delivers impactful, authentic flavour alongside true craftsmanship and quality.”