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Path: utzoo!utcsri!utegc!utai!ubc-vision!winston!veerman
From: veerman@winston.UUCP
Newsgroups: can.general
Subject: Re: stubby beer bottles
Message-ID: <247@winston.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 6-Nov-86 12:00:31 EST
Article-I.D.: winston.247
Posted: Thu Nov  6 12:00:31 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 7-Nov-86 17:06:26 EST
References: <12157@watnot.UUCP>
Reply-To: veerman@winston.UUCP (Maarten Veerman)
Distribution: can
Organization: New Media Technologies, Burnaby, BC, CANADA
Lines: 53
Summary: 

In article <12157@watnot.UUCP> rcgood@watnot.UUCP (Robert Good) writes:
>I' m not one to generally complain, but there is something that has been
>disturbing me more and more lately.  Canadian breweries seem to be switching
>more and more to the tall neck and twist off format for their beer bottles.
> 
>Rob Good (rcgood@watnot.NETNORTH)

The whole beer marketing scheme in Canada is due for a BIG shakedown. The
breweries have been spending all kinds of money on fancy bottles, foreign
labels, promotion, etc. all to improve their market share. The net result
is that the big three chemical companies (Labbats, Molsons, Carling O')
have not changed their market share much, but beer is more expensive, and
the big 3 are loosing money.

It's ridiculous. Most pubs in BC now have Miller or some such piss on tap,
and the beer is brewed here in BC anyways, they just pay the Yanks for the
privelege of calling the beer 'Millers'. It doesn't taste like US Millers,
it tastes just like any other Canadian beer (Which is OK because there is
nothing so great about the taste about US Millers anyways).

Bottles? Well, MY favorite beer, Extra Old Stock (Carling O') used to cost
the same as all other beers, but then they decided to improve its 'image'
by putting it in a 'long neck'. Result? Now it costs more, and I buy a
different type.

Which brings me to the observation that part of the problem lies with us,
the beer consumers. How many of you have noticed the GQ types in bars that
drink imported beers in bars to show how sophisticated they are (Ooooh,
look at THAT guy, he drinks IMPORT beer!...) ? The clues for spotting this
type are many, including holding the bottle with the label facing outwards,
etc. (NEVER drink imported beer from a glass, it defeats the purpose...).

Well, the beer marketing types think we are ALL like that, that is why we
now have Fosters, Millers, Budweiser, etc. brewed in Canada. The only
trouble is that if everyone drinks these beers, it defeats the original
purpose. So now there are fewer Canadian beers on the shelves (Goodbye,
cultural identity...), more 'import' labels, and they all taste the same
(more or less) anyways.

The biggest joke of it all is: On a trip to Boston a few years ago on
business, I spent a Friday afternoon after work in a downtown bar where all
the young business types (read yuppies) congregated for the after-work
drinks. They were showing their good taste and 'class' by drinking (You
guessed it!) Molsons Export in a green Heineken bottle, with the label
facing outwards...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Maarten Veerman                                "The only thing we know with
 New Media Technologies Ltd.                     absolute certainty is that
 Burnaby, British Columbia                       nothing is certain."
@ ubc-vision!winston!veerman
 (604) 291 - 7111

Disclaimer: I never posted that, it was my..ah..my answering machine, yeah...