Core Range Refresh

28 May 2020
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There's never been a better reason to go Ballistic

WHY is Queensland owned and operated Ballistic Beer Co. refreshing its packaging and tweaking its core range product offering? Because customers wanted them to! Just after their third birthday, Ballistic began working on a fresh look and fresh taste with the relaunch taking place early June. Ballistic Beer Co. Head Brewer Lachy Crothers said earlier this year, they starting thinking about how customer perceived their beers and brand. “We conducted a number of focus groups and online surveys to gather as much information as we could - our customers told us our old, one-colour can designs didn’t reflect the liquid inside.”

Crothers said they listened and made a number of changes to the range culminating in a four-point plan: a liquid refresh, can refresh, name refresh and price refresh.

“We had a great base to work from and the designs and beers have served us very well but in the craft beer business if you aren’t evolving and moving forward you’re going backwards,” said Crothers. “We have used this opportunity to make some of the changes we have been wanting to make for some time.” The can refresh means the designs are lighter, brighter and better reflect the personality of the beers so consumers can see the beers on the shelf and easily identify what style of beer is in each can. Wade Curtis, Ballistic Beer Co. Marketing Project Manager, said research indicates that customers usually select the type of beer they buy based on the style of beer, the brand of beer and the price.

“As a smaller producer we don’t have a huge advertising budget so we need our cans to jump off the shelf and into customers’ hands to try - we think the changes we have made do that,” said Curtis. The changes to the range are as follows:

OLD NEW Tasting Notes Changes
Pale Ale 5.2% Pale Ale 4.6% Light and refreshing. A light
bright contemporary Pale Ale
with tropical and spicy hop
notes.
Reduced ABV but maintained fullness of
flavour. Changed water salt profile to enhance softness of palate.
Dirty Word Lager 5% Lager 4.4% A crisp and refreshing lager, dry and light in body with noble hop characteristics. The Springfield Pilsner recipe replaces
Dirty Word Lager entirely and Dirty
World Lager is retired. Reduced malt
and hop complexity to make the beer
more approachable and reduced ABV.
Pilot Light 3.5% Cold One 3.5% A full bodied, bright tropical
and complex beer punching
well above its weight. Cold
One is an out and out craft
beer high in flavour and self-
control.
The beer will have a new and improved
recipe based on the old Pilot Light
recipe but tweaked into a more easy
drinking, but still noticeably hoppy, mid
strength pale ale. A new hop bill to make it less piney and lighter and brighter.
Changed water salt profile, added more
oats and wheat, changed mash
schedule to increase fullness of body,
and changed lautering process to
reduce astringency.
Revelation IPA 6.5% IPA 5.8% Contemporary IPA on trend
with Aussie drinkers. Light
malt body designed to prop up
brighter hops. Complex yet
inviting hop bill with fruity,
piney, berry and earthy
characters. An IPA for
drinking.
The recipe for IPA has been totally
revised to reduce the malt character and
increase the vibrance of the Australian
Vic Secret hop aroma.
Oaked XPA 5.8% Oaked XPA 5.5% A full bodied Xtra Pale Ale.
Fresh mango and grapefruit
notes are complimented from
vanilla characters from the
toasted American oak.
There will be no changes to the flavour
of Ballistic’s most highly awarded beer
except for a slightly lower ABV.

The changes in ABV have also allowed Ballistic to maintain, or in some cases reduce, its wholesale prices and in turn make the beers more appealing to retailers and more affordable for customers. “While the objective of the refresh was not to change prices we didn’t feel we could reduce the alcohol percentage and save on excise without passing this saving onto our wholesale and retail customers,” said Ballistic Beer Co CEO David Kitchen. “We are banking on the new look, the tweaked recipes and the renewed marketing messages to really drive the Ballistic brand out of the current COVID-19 impacted environment and into the traditional beer buying periods of summer and Christmas.” It’s the best reason to go Ballistic! Consumers can find Ballistic Beer Co. beers in pubs and bars (once they reopen), independent bottleshops, major chain bottleshops and Ballistic’s own breweries and bars.

- ENDS -
For more information, photos or press interviews, please contact:

David Kitchen
CEO of Ballistic Beer Co.
0407 587 915
davidk@ballisticbeer.com.au


PR Contact:
Katie Burton
Red Stockholm
0424 103 542
hello@redstockholm.com.au


ABOUT BALLISTIC BEER CO.
The Salisbury-based craft beer brewery was founded in 2016. In 2018, Ballistic opened its first off-site bar, Ballistic Alehouse and Kitchen in West End, and its Springfield Brewery, Alehouse and Kitchen opened in October 2019, with a brewery incorporated into the Alehouse. In early 2020, Ballistic won Champion Large Brewery at the Royal Queensland Show Beer Awards as well as three Gold and six Silver medals.

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