Czech brewers want "more people to drink less beer"

Czechs are the worlds biggest beer drinkers and breweries are doing good business - so why should they try to change anything? The answer is "ethics" says Ivan Sima secretary of the association of Prague breweries. Czech brewers want more people to drink their beer "in moderation", and they have worked hard to present the golden brew as something more than a pub drink. In this week's Magazine DL talks to Mr. Sima about a new code of ethics which the country's leading brewers have adopted, Czechs drinking habits, why most Czech pubs sell only one brand of beer and whether beer from a can can possibly taste as good as beer from a bottle.

Czechs are the world leaders in beer consumption per head -and many vow that there's no beer like Czech beer. Foreign tourists put this to the test at every available opportunity during their stay in the country and many would heartily agree with the old Czech saying that "where beer is brewed, life is good". Now the country's five leading brewers, who have approximately 75% of the market, are setting a new trend in the business - they have drafted and adopted a strict new code of ethics that goes beyond the regulations set by the law on advertising. They have committed themselves to an above board advertising strategy - that includes not using sex to sell their product, not suggesting that drinking beer makes one "more of a man", and not targeting children and teenagers in their ads. The fact that many Czech teenagers are regular beer drinkers and some start drinking it even before they are in their teens is allegedly not something that Czech brewers are proud of. Although it may prove difficult for them to influence consumer habits they are determined to give it a try. Ivan Sima is secretary of the association of Prague breweries:

"Of course, the Czech beer culture is something special -beer is the national beverage and there are quite a lot of people in this country who are able to drink 10 -15 beers - and I mean half-liter glasses - in one evening, which can hardly be called "responsible consumption" ...

But doesn't that make you happy ?

"In terms of sales it does make us happy, but it is definitely not something that can be tolerated by society...and in this respect we uphold the motto of the Czech beer association which says that we want MORE people to drink LESS beer /i.e. for more people to drink it, but in moderation / so in the end we would sell the same volume but consumption would be spread out more evenly."

Are you hoping that this code of ethics will give you an edge over other beer brewers?

"Of course, the fact that we signed something that the others didn't sign may be regarded as significant but the real reason why we signed this new code of ethics is because we want to promote the ideas behind this initiative and if someone sees it as a competitive advantage -well, then we are not against that. "

Over the past ten years -in advertising -have you changed your target group? Have you targeted women more -because more women drink beer regularly nowadays...don't they?

"We /Prague Breweries/ still tend to believe that beer is a man's drink despite the fact that some women really love it. For instance the main theme of our last advertisement was "By men, for men" which further strengthens this male attitude in beer advertising, but we definitely do not exclude women from our target group because such a healthy beverage should be drunk by all."

Many brewers also use /scantily clothed/ women to "sell" their product in adds. Do you find that acceptable, given your new code of ethics?

"We use actors in advertising and the new code of ethics does not prohibit the use of actresses, but of course abuse of sexual themes is not allowed."

Have you tried to change the image of beer in terms of presenting it as something more than a pub drink?

"Yes that is the common aim of the whole beer industry - we want to present beer as a beverage for everyone, to be consumed on a daily basis."

You mentioned Czech specifics in making beer, in selling beer ... one thing that our listeners may not know is that most Czech pubs sell only one brand of beer, isn't that right?

"Yes, that is correct. It is hard to say why that is so, but if you visit a few Czech pubs you will realize that that's simply how it is. Brewers can't do much about it and it is interesting to compare the way pubs work in England where you will find ten beer brands on tap. In the Czech Republic it is one, at the most two."

Is it the same in Austria and Germany for instance? Is this a central European thing?

"Yes, it is similar in Austria and Germany. I think the roots go back to the 19th century, to the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

Well, is this a positive arrangement for you?

"You mean only one beer brand on tap in pubs? I do not think it is too relevant. Of course, it is tempting to bind pubs via contracts - but such contracts are banned under the Czech competition law -so it is not too relevant in the long run ..."

So how do you persuade pub owners to sell your brand of beer?

"Of course, a great deal depends on the pub owner, on the preferences of his clients, especially his "regulars", on the quality of the brand, on pricing, service provided to the pub and so on....and individual brewers have their own approaches - our company for instance introduced an afternoon school of brewing, a significant part of which is teaching waiters how to tap beer and how to serve it."

What is the position of Czech beer in the world today? And how do you think it will change when we join the EU?

"I hope - and there is evidence of this -that Czech beer is a really good product and all the Czech beer exporters sell their brews as super premium lagers -really high priced. They don't sell them in volumes comparable to the cheaper local brands but I think that the fact that people are willing to pay a high price for Czech beer speaks for itself."

What do you do to get on foreign markets?

"To enter foreign markets is of course difficult. You have to find a good and reliable partner because distribution, in particular, may be a problem. It's hard work...."

What happens when we join the EU? What will it do to Czech beer producers?

"I personally don't expect that too much will change but of course some trends will continue and some of those trends might accelerate. For example the gradual increase of beer prices in the Czech Republic -and with it a slight decrease in consumption /something like 1% per year/ - this trend might "accelerate" somewhat when we join the EU."

Do you think it will kill the small brewers of which there are plenty in this country?

"I don't think that this will kill the small producers. Of course they will be competing on a larger market and it won't be easy for them -as for the others - but there is no reason why this should kill them because they usually sell specialty beers for which there is still a demand."

If you were to compare the quality of Czech beer with foreign brands?

"Czech beer is the best of course! Generally the quality of beer in the world has gone up in the last decade and it is pleasing that today you can drink good beer anywhere in the world but there is still a difference between Czech beer and foreign brews. That can even be proven in laboratory tests. The typical feature of Czech beer is that the degree of fermentation is lower which means that more of what we call the "extract" from the hops and malt is retained. This gives Czech beer a slightly different colour and a better -or stronger taste. I'm not talking about alcohol content now. "

Many beer drinkers are shocked by the idea of drinking beer from cans - how do you feel about that? Can beer from a can possibly taste as good as beer from a bottle?

"I don't really think that there is any difference in taste. I personally prefer to drink it from a glass and in such a case you hardly recognize that there is a difference. I think that those who claim there is a difference are simply not right."