Remember good ‘ol Charlie Brown and the football?

I felt like that today..

Yes, I admit it. As soon as a media release turns up offering some interesting new beer from Hahn I thought, “Oh no, here we go again. They’re going to make some outrageous claim about some fairly anodyne beer, call it ‘innovation’ and then deliver the same-old same-old.

But I bit. I read on…
At Hahn, we are constantly on the search for the next great pioneering beering idea to help Aussies get the most out of their beer experience.
Here we go again.
To create Hahn Bacon beer, Hahn brewers crafted a full bodied, smoked malt lager, which has the distinct aroma of bacon and cured meats, filtering right through to offer a delightfully smoky taste. The flavour has been achieved by exposing the malt to the intense, aromatic smoke of burning beech-wood logs in the final stages of the malting process.
Hey, wow! It’s a rauchy-sort of beer. Even if it’s done in a subtle, Hahn sort of way, it’ll be a different flavour. This will at least introduce a wide variety of people to an interesting new idea. Some of them might even like it and start asking questions, starting them down the path of rediscovering beer. Lots of people might not like it, sure, but it’ll sell just because of the novelty. At least Hahn are actually trying something inventive and that can only be good for the beer market, rather than seeing just how far they can go taking flavour out of beer. It’s great taking this mainstream, even as a one off. Rock on Hahn! Good on you!
Hahn Bacon is not available for commercial sale.
Auuuugh! WUMP!

Yes, it only exists in pictures. They have produced a special run for the winner, however, it won’t be available for commercial sale. You could ask, “why issue a media release?” But that just raises issues of how, now I have run the story, I am complicit in their branding exercise.

Never fear. There’s nothing pioneering about this beer. If you, dear reader, would like to try a beer that tastes of bacon, I suggest you instead look for beers that actually exist, such as the imported Schlenkerla range from the home of Rauchbier – Bamberg, Germany. It’s increasingly available in specialty bottleshops. Or else you can try a real bacon beer, rather than a smoked one that just tastes bacon-y, Innspire are about to land a shipment of a beer that is really made with bacon – and buckwheat – and what’s even cooler, it will be in cans.

Media Release

HAHN PUTS PIGGY IN THE MIDDLE OF NEW BREW

It’s no longer a necessity to decide between beer and bacon as the brewers at Hahn have pioneered Hahn Bacon beer, bringing two beloved flavours together in one delightfully smoky brew. This special run beer has been developed in conjunction with Hahn Academy, a new campaign by Hahn that calls for Australians to submit their best ‘pioneering beering’ ideas via the brand’s website, www.hahn.com.au.

Hahn Bacon beer, the first idea selected and prototyped by Hahn brewers, was submitted by Sydneysider Rob Slavin and selected from more than 600 ideas received by the Hahn Academy to-date. Other winning ideas up for prototype consideration include oblong beer bottles, to save space in the fridge, and honey beer.

Slavin said: “The concept of bacon beer came quite simply from my enjoyment of Hahn and my equal love of bacon. I have always wanted to make my own beer, and what better way to do it than to unite the two great flavours of bacon and beer, with the pioneering spirit of Hahn brewers.”

Jon Bradshaw, Brand Director at Lion was particularly enthusiastic about Hahn’s latest innovation. “At Hahn, we are constantly on the search for the next great pioneering beering idea to help Aussies get the most out of their beer experience. This is why we have gone directly to the source, Aussie beer drinkers, to find out exactly what would make beer even better for them,” Bradshaw said.

To create Hahn Bacon beer, Hahn brewers crafted a full bodied, smoked malt lager, which has the distinct aroma of bacon and cured meats, filtering right through to offer a delightfully smoky taste. The flavour has been achieved by exposing the malt to the intense, aromatic smoke of burning beech-wood logs in the final stages of the malting process. Hahn Bacon is not available for commercial sale.

To check out some of the other suggestions or to submit an idea visit www.hahn.com.au.